


Much Needed Amelioration

by whoisshe



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Post-Canon, Post-War, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 87,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23164393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoisshe/pseuds/whoisshe
Summary: Due to the still-present need for unity in the Fire Nation roughly three years after the hundred-year war ended, Fire Lord Zuko has assembled an International Council of Ambassadors, which includes Katara to represent the Southern Water Tribe. While observing the practices of her new residence, Katara comes up with an idea of creating a welfare plan and hospital for the lower class citizens to receive healthcare. The Fire Lord and the ambassador immediately put the plan to action, but get caught up in the trials of creating unity, fighting prejudices, developing feelings, and acts of terrorism.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 203
Kudos: 466





	1. Opening

Katara watched the small living lights fly around with slight amazement as they would brighten, dim completely for a second, and then reappear. “What are they called again?” She asked.

“Fireflies.”

She’d never seen anything like them at the south pole, she only recognized them from traveling. But, here there were hundreds in front of her in the heart of the Fire Nation capital floating above the tall buildings that were adorned with lanterns. Young children were running around with sparklers, matching the flying insects’ energy, and begging their parents to buy them sizzle crisps from the street vendors.

“At least, I think it’s the fireflies you’re talking about since I can’t really see what you’re pointing too,” Toph said with a shrug while walking beside the young waterbending master. The earthbender looked older since the end of the war. She was only a little taller, but the way she lacked the pom-poms in her hair definitely displayed that she was now a teenager and not a little girl.

“Right. Sorry, Toph.” It was nice having Toph with her for company in the Fire Nation. Sokka, her dad, and Gran Gran were at home celebrating in the Southern Water Tribe and Suki was finishing up her final days at Kyoshi Island before moving to the South Pole to be with Sokka. Aang was visiting King Bumi in the Earth Kingdom.

It was three years after the end of the hundred-year war and Toph and Katara were there for the same reason: to represent their homes on the Fire Lord’s international council. When Toph had told Katara about her being the one to represent Gaoling despite only being fifteen, she had said something along the lines of, _”Turns out coming from a family that has a lot of money means you have a lot of political power, not only the other way around.”_ Toph also expressed her gratefulness to be away from her parents again. When Katara received the job, she was brought in by Hakoda into the main council room back at the South Pole in a building that was created out of ice.

_“Hey Dad, is something wrong?” She walked in and stood across from her father sitting at his desk in a chair also made of ice draped with a snow leopard caribou skin rug._

_“Not at all. How’s the waterbending school going?” Hakoda said, finishing up shuffling through some scrolls._

_“It’s going well. The kids are learning fast, and with so many benders that have returned, asking for help or for a lesson has gotten much easier for the students.”_

_After Master Pakku moved to the Southern Water Tribe and married her Gran Gran Kanna, his assistant took over the waterbending school in the north and Pakku created one in the south for the young boys and girls that traveled to the south with him and the other voyagers. Katara would occasionally stop by to help teach, but from the large sum of benders that were included in the people who moved there from the sister tribe in the north, the ratio of the number of benders to students was more than enough. Being there felt like overkill to Katara, even though Master Pakku was always happy to see his star pupil and now step-granddaughter._

_“Great, and how is everything with the healers?”_

_“More than enough there too.”_

_Part of Master Pakku’s teachings included learning to use water bending to heal, involving the teaching methods of Yugoda. Because of the war being over and major injuries being far more scarce, the most healers were needed for was the rise in pregnancies that occurred with all the men returning. But Gran Gran had already begun training a bunch of people to be midwives. All of this has left Katara feeling kind of… useless._

_“Recently I received a letter from the Fire Nation,” Hakoda said, steering the conversation._

_“What did this one say?”_ _Hakoda received various letters from the Fire Nation often, pertaining to things such as offering help for rebuilding, Fire Nation goods, reimbursement from the war, and trading._

_“Here, sit down.” Hakoda gestured to the chair across from his and Katara took a seat._

_“It seems that to help with the continuation of unity building, the Fire Lord would like to create a group of ambassadors from various parts of each of the nations to represent their homeland to assist in trade and political decisions.”_

_“That’s a good idea.” Katara nodded, “but why not have the nations’ leaders do this?”_

_“Because the ambassadors will be living in the Fire Nation and staying in the palace.”_

_“That makes sense.”_

_Having a representative nearby to help attend to what was needed was very smart since the political leaders were too busy leading to stop by the Fire Nation whenever a new item of business came forward. Having someone there could ensure that the problem gets attended to immediately. It also put the citizens of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe minds to ease knowing that they have someone they trust there. Zuko had been working hard to make things right, and it showed._

_“Katara, I would like you to be the representative of the Southern Water Tribe.” Before Katara could even finish processing the request, Hakoda Continued. “There is no one that I trust to be good leaders more than you and your brother. The two of you played a huge part in ending the war. I find it fitting that the job of making sure a war doesn’t reoccur should go to one of you. Your brother is preparing to become the next chief, so it's clear that you are the obvious choice for this. The Southern Water Tribe would be honored to have you as it’s representative._

_“As much as it pains me to send my child, and only daughter that I love so dearly far away, I know that it’s an important cause. If you decide while you’re there that you feel too homesick, you can always come back and we can send one of my younger advisors. But, I think that the Fire Lord deserves to have an old friend on that council.” Hakoda braced himself for his daughter’s reaction, worried that she’d be upset, but instead, she wrapped her arms around him with happy tears in her eyes._

_“Dad, I feel so honored you asked me.” He wrapped his arms tightly around his daughter in response and heard her say, “When do I start?”_

“You know, Sugar Queen, it feels nice to be hanging out together again, us two like we did in Ba Sing Se once. Agni knows that this place would be boring with a bunch of old councilmen to talk to.” Toph’s expression was sincere with upturned lips.

“Thanks, Toph, I feel the same way.” Katara had a warm smile on her face.

“Yeah, tell anyone about what I said and I’ll bend a boulder at your face.” Katara let out a laugh and Toph punched her arm.

Katara knew that Toph was going to be really the only person to talk to while staying here, at least until Katara had a chance to talk to more people and make friends. There was Zuko also, but he’d most likely be busy with his duties as the Fire Lord. In the meantime, she would take in the scenery. The Fire Nation looked the same but felt more peaceful since she was last there back when she and Aang traveled together.

She had tried to have a romantic relationship with Aang, she really did, but it was filled with discomfort at his admiration, her need for space (which was hard to have when one was traveling with someone else alone on an air bison), which led to childish arguments, and when it came down to it, she wasn’t able to get herself to love him romantically, at least not as much as he loved her. She traveled with him for over half a year before breaking it off and deciding to end her travels with him and go back to her home in the Southern Water Tribe. Partly due to her wanderlust fading and partly to craving distance from the avatar.

Once she arrived, she began to realize how much things had changed at home and began feeling claustrophobic. Not to mention that the men from the north brought some of their sexist mindsets and the women brought their internalized misogyny. So when her father offered her the role of being an ambassador, she jumped at the chance to leave but still represent and help her tribe in a different way.

“You okay? I can sense that you're spaced out and tense.” Toph nudged her shoulder.

“Yeah. Tired from traveling.” She had arrived at the palace late that afternoon and had immediately dropped her stuff off in her room and left to go find Toph.

The earthbender let out a long yawn, raising her arms above her head in a stretch. “Me too. Let’s get out of here.”

Katara agreed and they headed back to the palace to turn in early for the night. When they reached their shared hallway in the east wing of the palace, they wished each other a good night and opened their doors and went to sleep in their separate rooms. Katara used to have problems with sleeping in new places, but she didn’t face any problems with it then.

Katara and Toph slept in until 11 am the next day. They didn’t leave the palace until half past noon, giving Katara enough time to bathe and then try and figure out an outfit she brought from home that she wouldn't sweat too much in. Katara blamed herself waking up so late on rising with the moon and being tired from traveling. Toph blamed herself waking up so late on feeling lazy.

They explored the different market shops in the town right beside the capital, keeping busy since they didn't have anything relating to their new jobs as Ambassadors to do, and there would be plenty more time to explore the palace when the market had closed. Katara was pleased to see people from different nations than fire walking around, whether they were visiting for the festival or living there. Though prejudices were still prominent, it was definitely lessening with people of different nations living in each other's homelands. It opened people’s eyes to other cultures and that there is no such thing as being less of a human because of their heritage. It also helped Katara’s remaining inner detest of the Fire Nation to melt away almost entirely.

“Are you sure that the hot pavement isn’t hurting your feet?” Katara asked Toph, concerned. She grabbed an extra pair of shoes to keep in her bag just in case Toph needed them.

“Don’t sweat, Sugar Queen. I’m fine!” Toph said while playing with the woven texture of a cloth that a merchant was selling, “The pavement isn’t that hot, it takes a lot more to break these feet.” She lifted up one foot and wiggled her toes with pride before setting her foot back down.

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure, stop fussing. But y’know what? It sucks that we skipped breakfast, I could really go for some tea.”

Katara nodded in agreement, “Let’s ask one of the shop owners where the nearest tea shop is.”

“No need, there’s one up the road.”

Katara followed Toph, trusting that she knew where everything was better than she did, especially since Toph has visited the Fire Nation plenty more times since the war ended than Katara did and had arrived a little less than a week prior. When they arrived, Katara looked up at the large sign above the little tea shop and pondered on the name as she walked through the front door. “The Jasmine Dragon? Why does that name sound familiar?”

Toph smirked. She walked through like she practically owned the place. “That’s because the owner of this place is-”

“Master Katara and Master Toph, it’s nice to see you both again!” Came a sweet old voice.

“General Iroh!” Katara ran up to the old man and gave him a big hug. His appearance seemed to not have changed at all.

He smiled warmly at her, “Call me _Uncle_ Iroh,” he said. Katara nodded so he continued. “I assume that like Toph, you are here to become an ambassador?”

“Yup,” Toph answered for her, taking a seat and ordering some tea from one of the servers. They place was bustling with customers.

“Master Toph, I haven’t seen you since we last played Pai Sho.” He sat down in the empty seat across from her, taking a break from brewing tea in the back.

“Yeah, when I totally kicked your butt!”

“Toph!” Katara was surprised with the earthbender’s _extreme_ lack of formality towards the Fire Lord’s uncle. The two must have become even closer friends since the last time she saw them together, Katara observed.

Iroh didn’t seem bothered at all by Toph’s words and instead, let out a deep laugh from his belly and said, “That is true. Perhaps a rematch?”

“You’re on!”

Watching two people play Pai Sho, Katara noticed, was a lot like watching beginning benders in a friendly sparring match. It required a lot of concentration and intimidation but looked like it could be fun to participate in. It also took a long time which was kind of boring. Toph kept her feet propped on the table in order to see the game tiles made out of engraved stones.

During their game, Katara left her bag filled with the stuff she just recently bought from the market and kept herself busy with attending to customers, working on orders, and cleaning dishes. Iroh kept telling her to sit down and relax, but Katara said it felt good to be doing something useful.

“I understand, working at a tea shop can be as relaxing sometimes as drinking a cup of tea itself. You know, my nephew worked as a tea server back in Ba Sing Se.” Iroh said while taking a sip of the cup of tea Katara brought to him.

“Oh yeah, I remember that!” Katara said. When he joined their group to train the avatar, he didn’t really speak much on his past. When he did mention it, it would be brief and not really opened up for discussion.

“Yeah, Hothead had to wear a uniform with an apron and everything.” Toph let out a laugh while Katara giggled and even Iroh gave a soft chuckle.

Katara thought of all the times she would wake up while traveling to the tea that Zuko brewed. “But Zuko’s tea always tasted…” She faltered, not knowing a polite way to put it.

“Terrible?” Iroh released a loud laugh from his belly, “Don’t worry, I made the tea, his job was to wait tables.” Katara nodded.

Toph made the final move on the Pai sho board, “Ha! Beat you again, Pops!”

“You’re right Master Toph. Much quicker than last time, too.”

Toph frowned, the realization dawning on her, “You let me win, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Iroh nonchalantly sipped his tea.

“I can feel that you’re lying.” Toph slouched, crossed her arms and grumbled.

“What matters, Master Toph, is that you have gotten a lot better since our first game.”

Katara laughed. She knew how much of a sore loser Toph could be and how it turned her into a grumpy child.

“Master Katara, would you like to play?”

“No thank you,” Katara politely declined, “I don’t really know how to play Pai Sho.”

“Then you must learn!”

“Oh, um, okay.” Katara agreed.

Toph snickered and Iroh nodded. “Well then let us begin!”

The game was far more complicated than Katara originally anticipated. It took over an hour to explain the setup, and that was without Toph chiming in with witty comments, it got late and eventually, they had to close the tea shop down and Iroh sent all of the workers home. Iroh ended his lesson by describing different strategies that people often used while walking them to the door. “One that I have found to be the most common is sacrificing an important piece after letting your competitor surround it. They think that they are ahead, but you are really planning a sneak attack.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks again for having us.” Katara said and gave Iroh another hug.

“Of course, it’s so nice to have your company.”

Toph and Katara were about to head out when Katara remembered that she left her bag back at the table.

When Katara heard the click of the backdoor unlocking, she immediately got into an offensive waterbending position, thinking that only a theft would be entering a tea shop after it closed, and lifted the tea from a nearby cup, and stealthily stepped into the kitchen. But when the door opened, Katara was met with the face of a surprised Fire Lord watching her with one eyebrow raised and the dark liquid in her palm.

“Nephew!” Came Iroh’s voice from behind her before either had a chance to say anything, causing her and Zuko’s eye contact to break. Katara put the tea back into the cup.

“Uncle, I’m sorry for not visiting earlier this week.” He opened his arms up in Iroh’s embrace.

“Not a problem, I understand how busy your life is.”

Zuko had certainly changed since she last saw him a year ago. His already strong jawline had sharpened even more and his shoulders broadened. The most obvious change was in his height. Katara could now barely reach his shoulder. He still sported his silky hair in a top knot, though it seemed to be less messy. His eyes were still a striking gold, but seemed to be less frustrated and more… captivating. His scar had the same slightly mysterious aura it had before. He looked older, like a true leader, the honorable Fire Lord he was destined to be.

“I’m sure you’ve already caught up with Master Katara since she’s gotten here,” Iroh suggested.

“Actually, I haven’t.”

Iroh’s eyebrows raised, “Fire Lord Zuko, I’m sure I’ve taught you to be a better host than that.”

“It’s really okay,” Katara assured, “I arrived yesterday in the late afternoon.”

Zuko’s face was still a little red. The two of them made eye contact again.

Katara noticed Zuko’s eyes sizing her up as she did to him. She knew she looked older. Her cheekbones were higher, her eyes even brighter than before, her brown curly hair even longer, now reaching past her waist to her hips. Her hips filled out, giving her even more of a feminine figure. Katara spoke.

“Nephew?” Iroh said with a patient smile on his face.

His eyes left her. “Yes?” Zuko asked.

“Did you hear what Master Katara said?” Iroh asked with a bit of humor in his voice.

“I said it’s good to see you, Zuko,” Katara repeated with a smile.

Happy the awkward air was gone, Katara walked over and hugged the young man and him, also happy with the dissolved tension, wrapped his arms around his close friend in return.

“Oh hey, Sparky.” Toph greeted as she walked into the kitchen to join the three others.

“Hello again, Toph,” Zuko responded, bringing the younger girl into a hug.

Katara felt a small slight pang of jealousy that Toph got to see their friend since she showed up when Katara hasn’t. She quickly crushed those feelings, since they were silly.

A light-hearted conversation erupted between the four of them that went on for probably an hour, though it felt like only ten minutes to Katara who hadn’t seen them all together for what felt like such a long time when a guard interrupted to alert Zuko that it was time to go back to the palace.

After hugging his Uncle goodbye, Zuko turned to the two young women and asked if they’d like to join him on his way back to the palace.

“I don’t know, Sparky. Being in a palanquin with my feet not being able to touch the ground doesn’t sound too much like a great time to me.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be walking back with the guards. I found palanquins a bit too much and I didn’t want to draw unwanted attention to a simple trip.” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck.

“That sounds good,” Katara answered. She still felt kind of shell-shocked pertaining to the young man in front of her.

After saying goodbye to Iroh again, they left out of the back door that Zuko came in through and was greeted by a group of four guards who didn’t say anything, followed in front of and behind the group. The streets were dark and empty, the only light illuminating the road behind the buildings was the stars and the few lanterns that were still lit.

“That’s good that you have time to visit Iroh,” Katara said with a light smile to Zuko.

“I try to visit as much as I can. I keep trying to convince him to come live in the palace and be an executive on my council, but he is happy living his dream of owning his tea shop.” Zuko said the next part with his eyes straight ahead. “I’m lucky he opened one so close instead of going back to his old one in Ba Sing Se. I would have to take over Ba Sing Se to be closer to him.” Zuko joked. Katara knew he still needed his Uncle’s care and wisdom, even if he was not an angsty young teenager anymore.

“We talked about your time as a tea server,” Toph said with a small snicker.

Zuko groaned. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds,” he defended.

“You’re right, the uniform sounded fun.” Katara teased.

Zuko scowled. The three of them returned to the playful banter they missed sharing all the way back to the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading this fic! I plan on updating every Friday, but I just couldn't wait to get this chapter posted. Don't worry, there will still be an update this Friday, 3/20.
> 
> I plan on creating a pinterest mood board that anyone can see and get a visual idea of the settings, scenes, and characters. I also plan to use that board to give a couple of sneak peeks for future chapters. ;) It should be ready by the time I post chapter two.
> 
> Come talk to me and ask me questions on my tumblr! My username is whoissheff ( https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/ )
> 
> Thank you so much! Make sure to subscribe for chapter updates and comment! I'd love to hear from you! xxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is some mild sexual content in this chapter.

Katara stayed in the palace to do a little bit of exploring there the next day due to her first scheduled meeting. It seemed like every step she took out in the palace gardens while Toph was busy rumbling against other earthbenders, she was stopped by someone asking her to show them her bending. At first she found it flattering, though uncomfortable, but now she found it annoying. It got so bad, that she would be in the middle of a conversation with one of the servants, and people would still come up to her and cause her this inconvenience. 

“No, I’m not going to do some sort of trick for you!” The man she was addressing fled from embarrassment. She was about to yell at an approaching servant that walked up to her that no, she won’t create a water whip from the fountain, that would disrupt the turtle ducks, when the servant told her that she was requested to one of the meeting rooms to meet with the rest of the International Relations Committee. Toph caught up with them on their way there.

“How was your impromptu earth rumble with your friends?”

“Boring as usual. The only entertaining part is hearing their complaining when I beat them.

Katara let out a small laugh. Toph offered to introduce Katara to the people she beat in sparring later. “Thank you Toph, I really appreciate that.”

The doors opened and they were met with at least a dozen other people. The two sat down and almost immediately the chair on the other side of Katara was taken. Katara turned to see who the person was and she was met with a man, who looked not much older than her, in dark blue.

“You must be the representative from the Northern Water Tri-”

“Katara. Daughter of Chief Hakoda and the Avatar’s waterbending teacher.” He abruptly grabbed her hand that was resting on the table and shook it. He had a darker complexion like her own, long hair tied up with two braids in the front, and short facial hair.

Katara gave him a polite smile, but pulled her hand away. She tried to remember him from the times that she visited the north, but couldn't. She opened her mouth to say hello, but before her words even came out, the man spoke again.

“I’m Haruk. Nephew to Chief Arnook and a high ranking member in the Northern Water Tribe. I am here to be a representative for the tribe.” He puffed out his chest, clearly trying to look impressive.

Katara blinked back at him then said, “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

He smiled, “I have to admit, I was very excited when I learned that it was you representing your tribe.”

“Thank you.” Katara felt flattered.

“I was even more excited when I discovered you are even more attractive than rumors entail.” He said a little quieter, leaning slightly forward.

“Oh.”  _ Oh.  _ Katara remembered that Toph was there when she heard a snort behind her.

Before the Northern Water Tribe Ambassador could say anything else, Zuko entered the room. Everyone sat up straighter as he walked to his chair at the head of the table.

“Thank you everyone for joining me. I hope that you all had a safe journey. I would like to extend my gratitude to each of you for being representatives of not only your home but your entire nation as well.” Zuko greeted. His hair was in the same top knot that it was the night before, but his official robes looked a lot heavier. 

“I created this committee for many reasons. One of which is to work with each of you to discuss trading, another is to help rebuild all of the nations. The Fire Nation has made many mistakes in the past-”

“I’ll say,” Haruk muttered to Katara.

“-But we hope to fix those mistakes. Not all mistakes can be amended, but I hope to accomplish as much as possible to get as close as we can. Another positive outcome is unity. I hope that some of you have gotten a chance to speak to another representative you haven’t before,”

Haruk smiled at Katara. Katara, while raising her upper lip and wrinkling her nose, nodded back.

“To increase unity between all of your people and the people of the Fire Nation, I hope to meet with each of you individually and discuss what we can do.”

Katara felt a hand on her knee and she turned towards the person the hand belonged to.

“What are you doing later?”

“Representative Haruk, did you have something to add?” Zuko asked.

Haruk retreated from Katara, grumpily saying no. Katara silently thanked Zuko for unknowingly halting the man next to her. The meeting continued on for another hour and a half with only a few interjections of Haruk trying to catch Katara’s attention. When the meeting ended, Katara ducked out before Haruk could catch up to her, went to dinner, ate quickly, and then retreated to her room to read through some official scrolls.

When Katara sat alone in her room, she thought about the day’s events. More specifically, the meeting. Though Haruk made Katara a bit uncomfortable, she was left more surprised than anything else. It was one of the first times she was approached that way by someone. It honestly kind of reminded Katara of how lonely she felt. She laid her head down on the soft pillow on her bed and let out a deep sigh.

She had been flirted with in the past, her thoughts brought up the image of Jet, but after the end of the war, it was common knowledge of Aang’s feelings for her, and no one wanted to get on the bad side of the Avatar. Even when Katara called the two of them off, nobody dared to approach her, except men from the Northern Water Tribe that would whistle and catcall at her until her dad or Sokka sent them a glare or when she got so fed up, when she sent them a water whip.

That was the first time she was regarded in a sexual matter. At first, it was intriguing, she enjoyed being viewed as attractive even though she didn't enjoy the way the men were displaying it, but then it got extremely annoying. 

Katara was a healthy young woman and was curious of things that were of a sexual nature. Katara wasn’t more mature than Aang emotionally, but sexually she was. Aang always kept things very chaste, never letting hands wander, and all kisses were kept closed mouth. Katara kept having to remind herself that not only was he younger than her, but he was also a monk. Katara turned to Suki one time for advice when her future sister-in-law was visiting the Southern Water Tribe.

_ “It’s frustrating,” Katara complained. Suki rubbed Katara’s back comfortingly. _

_ “Well, how far have you gotten?” Suki inquired. _

_ “Not far at all!” _

_ “He does know how it works, right?” Suki asked with equal concern and curiosity. _

_ “Yes, he knows.” Katara thought back to all of Sokka and Aang’s ‘man time’ and how after one particular bro session, Aang couldn’t even look her in the eye without blushing. _

_ “Well, then talk to him about it. Explain to him you have needs and you want to take things further from holding hands.” _

Katara tried to follow Suki’s advice, but Aang put on an innocent, uncomfortable act and Katara felt too embarrassed to continue, so she stuck with his closed mouth kisses that were short-lasting and when she felt that itch that needed to be scratched, she would take care of it herself.

That was until near the end of their relationship. Aang must have sensed their relationship was dying and tried everything he could to save it. He started being less chaste and began being pushy, eventually pushing for more than Katara was even ready to do with him and it made Aang frustrated when Katara wouldn’t comply. It caused Katara to begin a conversation with him that she didn’t want to have, but knew she had to.

Her fingers played with her necklace and she thought of the night before. When Zuko stared at her back at Iroh’s tea shop, she saw a lot of emotions, most of which were forms of shock and surprise, but there was something else. Something that made her feel… a little sexy. She had never felt sexy with Aang. His virtuous ways always made her feel that her sexuality was dirty or bad or something that needed to be hidden.

Katara hated feeling that way. She liked her body and her sensuality. Her hand slid down to rest on her breast. It was too big to fit in her hand and she couldn't help but wonder if it would fit with a larger more masculine one around it. 

Though Zuko’s gaze was quick, it made her feel appealing and pretty, alluring even, and in return, it made her feel powerful and confident. In turn, it made her feel desired and sexy. It was different from the way that Haruk or the men from the Northern Water Tribe leered at her. Zuko knew her and she wasn’t just an object she was looking at to him.

The more she thought about it, her body heated and her thighs squeezed tighter together. She loved the feeling it gave her and wanted more of it. So as she moved her hand down her stomach, below her under wrappings, she thought of a gold gaze looking up and down and all over her body and how it made her heart race.

Down in the main dining hall, Toph and Katara joined everyone for breakfast. They got there early so they decided to sit near the end of the table, by the spot where the Fire Lord sometimes sat for the meals he eats in the main dining hall instead of somewhere else. 

Unfortunately, the two of them didn’t really get to enjoy casual conversation with their old friend when other noble people were constantly getting Zuko’s attention, wanting to discuss political matters. 

When the Fire Lord had first entered the room, a rosy blush faintly dusted Katara’s cheeks, thinking back to the night before. He barely had a chance to acknowledge the two young women before an older politician interrupted, claiming he had ‘matters far more pressing.’

“There’s only so much money this government can throw away!” The older man said very heatedly.

“It’s not throwing away!” Zuko defended while his stress lines made an appearance on his face. “It’s the government’s job,  _ our job _ , to handle matters that involve the public, one of which being healthcare!”

At this, Katara couldn’t help but listen in while pretending to just be innocently chewing food and paying them no mind.

“The problem, Fire Lord, is the  _ amount _ of illness and injuries amongst the lower class citizens.” The advisor said.

“I agree,” said Zuko, “and it’s our job to do something to help.”

The advisor looked annoyed at this point and opened his mouth to say something disrespectful to Zuko, but was still putting together what in his mind when Katara decided to contribute, “What sounds like the most logical move to me is that healthcare is offered to more than the upper and middle class.”

“It is.” The advisor scoffed in a way that signified  _ ‘obviously, you water tribe heathen’ _ .

“I mean,” Katara replied, “at a free or reduced rate. Especially for families that need it and ones that have returned soldiers.” 

At her words, the advisor’s jaw opened in a mix of astonishment and disgust.

Instead of the same reaction, Zuko nodded. “How do you propose we could do that?”

“There are lots of ways. In the Southern Water Tribe, we-” Katara began to explain but was interrupted by a second man since she got to the Fire Nation. 

“Yes. Thank you, but this discussion is for the dignitaries of the Fire Nation, not for outsider peasants.”

“Advisor Zahr, please do not speak that way to my friend, Ambassador Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.” Zuko reprimanded.

It felt like everyone at the long decorated dining table had gone quiet.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have finished my meal and have some business to attend to.” The advisor said and then left with the customary fist to palm bow and without apologizing.

Katara sat in the sweet fragrant palace gardens observing the beautiful vibrant colors of the Fire Nation flora and chatting with Toph. Toph was assuring her that what she said earlier to the one advisor was alright when they noticed Zuko walking towards them. 

“Hey Sparky,” Toph greeted. Katara smiled as her greeting.

“Hey,” he said in return. They scooted down the bench so Zuko had space to take a seat beside them.

“Break time?” Katara asked Zuko.

“I never have break time,” Zuko responded. Katara nodded, 

“I’m sorry about Advisor Zahr at breakfast.”

Katara dismissed it, “No need to apologize, though he was rude, he was right. It wasn’t my place to tell you how to run your nation.”

Zuko frowned, “That’s not what you were doing.”

“Besides,” Toph chimed in with a teasing smirk, “he wasn’t the first man to say something abrupt to her since she got here.” 

Zuko raised his good eyebrow.

“Katara got hit on by Mr. Northern Water Tribe during the meeting the other day. He was about as subtle as getting run over by a herd of ostrich-horses.”

Zuko laughed at what Toph said and even Katara let out a little chuckle.

“Whatever,” Katara said while rolling her eyes with a smile. “Anyways, Zuko, what were you saying?”

“I was wondering, actually, if you’d be able to come to a meeting today at four. It’s in the conference room we were in yesterday and will be with my advisors and councilmen.” He said to Katara.

“Sure. I’ll be free.” Katara said.

“Alright, see you then. I need to head back and finish some paperwork before the meeting starts.” Zuko said, even though he had a chance to sit down. The other two said goodbye as he departed.

“Soooooo…” Toph began. Katara knew that voice, it meant Toph wanted to gossip. “Do you think you’re going to go out with Haruk?”

“No,” Katara said flatly, trying to end the kind of conversation that would be discussed as high-class women over tea.

Toph seemed quiet for a bit and then got a bit shifty and said, “Is it cause you miss Aang?” 

“What? Of course not.” Katara defended.

“Okay, cool.” Toph said. She seemed to be acting a little weird.

Katara looked at her in confusion, and then it clicked. “You like Aang!”

“No!” Toph defended, blushing all the way down to her neck.

“I can tell that you’re lying.” Katara responded back at her in her own sing-song voice. 

“I’m not!”

Katara gave her a mother-like smile and said, “It’s okay if you do, you know. He’s a nice guy, him and I didn’t work out. We're still friends and I want what’s best for him, what’s best for both of you.”

“Really?” Toph asked.

“Of course!” Honestly, Katara was more surprised than anything, but she wasn’t going to let that get in the way of being supportive of Toph.

“Well, I still don’t like him like that,” Toph stated.

“Well, if you ever, don’t be afraid to talk to me about it, or we could talk about when you had a little crush on Sokka.” Katara said with a devilish smile.

“Ew, don’t bring that up.” Toph stood up, “I have another Pai Sho game against Pops to attend to and you have your meeting so I’ll see ya later.”

“Bye, Toph,” Katara said to her retreating friend. Then to herself: “I knew it, Haru owes me five copper pieces.”

Katara took a deep breath before opening the doors. Honestly, she was more nervous about this meeting than the one with the other ambassadors. With them, it was with people who were also strangers to the Fire Nation. In this meeting, it’s with the Fire Lord’s councilmen, some of which have been councilmen to the Fire Lord since before she was born, and lived there all their lives. Most of which still weren’t even on Zuko’s side, much less Katara’s. She wasn’t expecting a warm welcome.

Whispers erupted as she entered the council room. She was surprised, though. It was a change to have the complaints be about her citizenship rather than her gender. Infact, there were a few other women in the room.

“Master Katara, thank you for joining us.” Zuko said, keeping up the formal titles in front of everyone there.

“Thank you for inviting me,” Katara responded. When more whispering erupted, Katara began to worry that she said the wrong thing or she had something in her teeth or hair or something else embarrassing.

She sat down at the only seat available at the round table, across from Zuko, in between two older men with scowling faces and gray hair, who seemed to be refusing to acknowledge her.

“Well then,” Zuko said, “Now that everyone is here, let us begin.” 

The meeting was dragged on, to say the least. Katara spent the whole time sitting there, not saying a word. As she began questioning what the purpose of her being there was, Zuko said something that piqued her interest.

“This morning, Master Katara brought up some excellent points on solving issues on health in the Fire Nation.”

“Fire Lord, are you really going to let an outsider help me make decisions on our personal matters?” Asked one advisor. Katara scowled.

“I will when they have ideas like Master Katara’s,” Zuko responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Sir, I agree with Advisor Ire. This isn’t your little ‘International Relations Committee.’ These are matters of-”

“Enough!” Zuko loudly said, losing his temper and then regaining it. “By disrespecting Katara, you are dishonoring yourselves, me, and the Fire Nation, She is here because of the ideas she brought in favor of our nation. We will hear what she has to say on this matter. Do I make myself clear?”

Katara couldn’t refrain from smirking to herself as heads nodded to their leader’s words.

“Katara,” He gestured to her, “What was it you were saying yesterday?”

“Oh, um…” Katara swallowed, took a deep breath and then said, “I mentioned having healthcare for lower-class citizens at a free or reduced rate.”

Whispers broke out and Zuko rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples at the other adults in the room, “Continue.”

“The way I recommend going about this is by the government paying the workers and some small things being implemented into taxes. It would have it be so the workers still get paid fairly, but the hospital is run more or less like a business.”.

“That’s a good idea.” Zuko smiled at her, she smiled back.

“But, the hospitals in the Fire Nation are all located far from anywhere citizens of the lower class could even access them.” The person to her left said.

“I’m aware,” Katara explained, “From what I remember from my various times being here is that medical work for those who are poorer than most has always been done inefficiently by someone who isn’t a healer and healing herbs have been sold illegally under the table.”

“So, you’re saying the plan of action should be to build a hospital with more availability to those who need it.” Zuko brainstormed.

“Absolutely. Building it would create jobs for those who are unemployed. “ Katara said. The conversation stopped being between everyone in the room and shifted to being between those two.

“And we can invite healers from all four nations to work there, it would have all different medical practices, so everyone can learn from each other, and it would help with the promotion of unity and equality.” Zuko supplied, they both grew more and more excited.

“I know a few healers from the Southern Water Tribe who would love to help at the hospitals and train future healers, at least temporarily. Including myself.”

Then Zuko suggested something that Katara wasn’t expecting, “And you could run the production of it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! You finished chapter two! 
> 
> I made a Pinterest board for this fic, there is a section for different characters and settings. I plan to update it as I go. There is also a section for some sneak peeks and teasers. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Give me feedback on the fic or ask me questions on mt Tumblr. I also post little sneak peeks for the fic there too! ;) https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> I hope to update as soon as Tuesday (3/24), but if not, there will still for sure be an update on Friday (3/27).


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 1 am where I'm at, which still means it's TUESDAYYYYYYY which is UPDAAAATTTTEEEE DAYYYYYY.  
> -  
> Whoop life is fun.

_ Dear Sokka and Suki, _

Katara addressed the letter to both of them since she knew that Suki would be at the South Pole in less than a week to move there to be with Sokka. As soon as she arrives, Sokka was going to do something that he’s been planning for that last month. Katara helped Sokka rehearse what he was going to say, though he still needed to plan where he’s going to ask her.

_ It’s only been five days and I’ve already come across a million different types of spicy foods, even for breakfast and dessert. I forgot how much the Fire Nation citizens love seasoning. _

Honestly, she liked the variety of Fire Nation food more than always only having seal jerky and sea prunes.

_ Toph and I have met up with Iroh a couple of times since we’ve gotten here, Toph even more than me. He’s not the only friend she has here, though. People are blown away by her metal bending. We also met the ambassador from the Northern Water Tribe. He says he’s Chief Arnook's nephew. Maybe Dad knows him. I’ll go talk to him if I ever feel homesick. _

Katara doubts that she will though. It’s hard to feel homesick when you were previously feeling sick of home. Sokka knew she was feeling like this and wasn’t worried at all about her leaving for the Fire Nation when she told him.

_ I told Gran Gran all about the hospital plans in her letter and I told Dad all about the trading opportunities that were presented by the other Ambassadors. _

She thought she might as well include a bit on the original reason she was there. She didn’t rewrite the same information in every letter, knowing that her family always shows each other theirs unless it contained something private.

_ Suki, I promise I will talk to the Kyoshi Ambassador like you said. From what you’ve told me, she sounds very nice. _

Suki mailed Katara right away when she found out who the Kyoshi Ambassador was after Katara gave her the news of representing the Southern Water Tribe.

_ Sorry this letter will take so long to get to you. I don’t have a messenger Hawk, unlike some people. _

_ Love, _

_ Katara _

She sent the letter off attached to the one for her dad and for her grandmother and headed off to her meeting. 

Unfortunately, Toph wasn’t going to the meeting so Katara had to take a seat next to someone else. It was almost time for it to start and still no one had sat down next to her. She almost gave up and walked over to where Haruk was sitting so that she would be sitting by someone she knew and not alone, but she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and wasn't greeted by a woman with deep brown hair tied up in a bun with pieces falling out around her face wearing a chest binding and a long green skirt that dragged slightly on the floor. She had moss green eyes and a grin plastered on her face.

“Hey there, mah waterbendin’ kin.” 

“Hello,” Katara greeted and smiled in return, “I’m Katara.”

The woman lightly smacked her shoulder, “I know that, silly. It’s great to finally git to talk to ya. I’m Thala from the Foggy Swamp Tribe.”

Katara’s face lit up, “The Foggy Swamp Tribe? I’ve been hoping to get to meet with you.” Katara was so excited when she discovered the Foggy Swamp Tribe back during her adventures during the war. She wanted to learn more about the culture of her recently discovered Sister Tribe. 

“Then we better git on that, sis.” Thala responded, her grin growing bigger, showing off more teeth than a cat-gator, “The meetin’s ‘bout to start, but tonight we could get together an’ maybe even bend a lil’ bit. It’s a waxin’ moon after all.” Thala winked.

“That would be amazing!” Katara couldn’t be more eager. Not only did she get to discuss traditions with the woman, but she also got to bend with another female waterbender.

“I’m sorry, but I’m really not interested.” Katara was sure she didn’t even need to say that. Her body language towards the man should have been far more than enough for him to take a hint. 

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Haruk said.

“You sure?” Katara muttered under her breath.

“You're not interested in a relationship. That’s okay, we can hang out and have a little fun, just the two of us.” Haruk suggested.

“Like I said earlier, I’m flattered,” Haruk let out a slimy smile at her words, “but no thank you. Now, I have to go, So if you’ll excuse me.” With that, Katara left him.

Katara raised her hand to the big wooden door of toph’s room before she knocked she heard Toph say, “Come in, Sugar Queen.” 

“How are your feet?” Katara asked after entering through the door. Toph’s room mirrored Katara’s own with a sitting room when you first entered and a door in the back that led to a rather large bedroom. Toph was sitting on an armchair in the sitting room, munching loudly on an apple.

“I’m fine. Everything’s just a little fuzzy.” The day before, Toph burnt her feet on the hot asphalt of the Fire Nation roads. Katara had offered to take a look at Toph’s feet, but she refused, seeming to be embarrassed by her feet not being tough enough to withstand. After traveling everywhere to save the world, everyone in the group deserved a self-care break from time to time.

“Did you want me to fill you in on the meeting?” Katara offered.

“Nah,” Toph said with a wave of her hand, “I barely even  _ pretend  _ to pay attention to those. Listening to more babbling might bore me to death.”

“You can’t sit there all day,” Katara said, trying to convince her friend to leave her room, even though she has done the same thing many times

“Never underestimate my ability to idle.”

Katara laughed. “Alright then, I actually have to go meet with someone.” 

“With Sparky?” Toph asked.

“No,” Katara said, confused where that came from. “Why? Did Zuko mention needing to go over something with me?”

“Nope.” 

Now Katara was more confused than before but didn’t comment on it. “I’m meeting with the Foggy Swamp Tribe Ambassador.”

“Cool. Have fun.” Toph responded, “I’m going to go to sleep.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

“See ya.”

She turned and left, going to the fountain near the training areas and places made for those staying in the palace to practice sparring. When she got there, Thala was already bending.

Her bending, as well as everyone’s bending style from the Foggy Swamp Tribe, contained less flow like the traditional Northern and Southern Pole style, it focused more on precision and hard motions, probably from the strong earthbending influence.

Suddenly, a ball of water was heading straight for Katara’s head. Without missing a beat, Katara redirected the water back to where it came from, soaking the swamp bender’s chest wrappings.

“Nice job, Southern Tribe.” Thala praised with a low whistle. She didn't pay any attention to the dripping from her top and let it soak through. Katara preened at the compliment.

Thala sat on the edge of the fountain, her feet and the bottom of her long skirt pooling in the water. She tapped the fountain spot to her left, gesturing for Katara to sit beside her. Katara complied.

“So hon, wha’ exactly was it that ya wanted to know ‘bout the Swamp’s way a’ doin’ things.”

“Whatever I can. Until a couple years ago, I didn't even know your tribe existed. I want to find out what in your culture is the same as mine and different.”

The other woman gave a laugh. “Well the first thing I can think of is leadership. While the Southern Water Tribe has mostly male chiefs with a few female ones sprinkled in, we’ve always had a High Priestess. We also focus more on religion than any other place does, except the air nomads of course.”

Katara nodded, absorbing all the information. “How do you feel about the other tribe’s way of doing things?” 

“Personally, I like y’all in the south, but things an’ people up in the north are more than a lil’ less socially…  _ progressive _ .”

Katara agreed completely.

“Jus’ know that if all the men there are anythin’ like Haruk, then I probably won’t be visitin’ anytime soon.”

Katara snorted, “some of them are worse.”

Thala gave out a hoot and they both laughed. “tell you what, Katara. I’ll tell ya everything there is to know about the Foggy Swamp Tribe if you teach me some of the bendin’ techniques y’all learn at the poles.”

“Deal,” Katara agreed and then added to the bargain, “As you know, I’m in charge of the creation of the newest hospital, and I want you to be one of the healers at it. This hospital will benefit from all types of healing and I want to learn all about how healing is where you’re from too. Both the bending kind and nonbending.”

Thala smiled and then said, “deal!”

Katara found the hospital meetings, so far, more productive than any of the other meetings she had to attend. She also found that she looked forward to the hospital meetings more than the other ones. Currently, the meetings were between her and the Fire Lord, but soon the meeting would be including more people involved with the planning and the hospital staff.

“I had job advertisements put out for workers, so the construction team will be finished being put together soon,” Zuko informed Katara, the two of them were looking over all the papers scattered over his desk, too busy in their work to mind the tea that one of the servants brought them.

“Perfect, what about the blueprints for the hospital?” Katara asked and Zuko handed them over for Katara to look over, “I think Iroh should be in charge of the construction hiring process. He knows a lot of people and is great with them.”

“And he’s someone we can both trust.” Zuko nodded, “I’ll ask him if he’ll be interested when I visit him tonight.”

Katara smiled, it was obvious Zuko was happy about getting to spend more time with his uncle while once again working with him, even though he was trying to conceal it, “tell him I say hello.”

“I will. Next is financing work.” Zuko said and gave a slight pause as if he thought of something.

“That’s completely up to you,” Katara said, “just pick someone to be in charge of it that would do a good job.”

“I know someone,” he said slowly, “They’ve done some of the best financial work I’ve seen.”

“Okay, then choose them,” Katara responded. Zuko wrote a name down and Katara didn’t bother to look to see what it was. 

“When did you plan that we start looking for healers to work at the hospital?” Zuko asked.

“I already sort of have,” Katara said a little sheepishly. She realized that she probably should have asked the Fire Lord before she took action, but Zuko didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest. “I already wrote a letter to my grandmother asking about healers from my tribe who would like to come and work and teach others at the new hospital, if only temporarily. I also asked Thala.”

“The Foggy Swamp Tribe Ambassador?” Zuko asked.

“Yes, and she agreed.”

Zuko’s eyes squinted, a sign of him smiling without really doing so. Katara knew that he must be glad that the ambassadors were getting acquainted with each other.

“We’ve also been receiving word from across the Fire Nation inquiring about possible jobs, we can look over their applications after sending word to everywhere else, which I can have an advisor do today. Although, I’ll leave finding the majority of healers to you as the head of this project.”

Katara nodded and smiled, happy to be in charge of something so important. Sokka was right whenever he called her bossy, though Katara preferred being referred to as authoritative. 

The Waterbender could tell that Zuko was having fun at the meetings too, though he seemed a little stiff. The fancy collar on his royal robes must have been killing his neck and back, which she guessed was great for his posture, but bad for his spine’s health. Without saying a word, Katara leaned forward, reaching across the desk, and touched his collar. Zuko stilled and his eyes widened. Realizing what she did and not knowing where it came from, Katara snapped her gaze from the pointed collar in her hands, up to his golden eyes which were looking back into her light blue ones.

Their gaze stayed looking at each other like they did at the tea house the night she first arrived. The familiar feeling began below her stomach, causing her tan cheeks to take on a rosy hue. Her tongue darted out of her mouth to provide her plump dry lips with moisture. Something in Zuko’s gaze shifted after she did that. His eyes, which were previously widened in surprise, narrowed a little.

She quickly brought her hands away in surprise and glued them to her sides. Zuko’s eyebrows grew together.

“I… um…” Katara cleared her throat, “I like your collar.” She offered as an explanation.

Glancing away from her and looking a little awkward, Zuko responded. “I’ll tell the royal seamstress you said so.” His voice was soft and his tone steady.

Katara nodded, the blush on her face spreading down to her neck. She looked back down at the papers, searching for something she could use as a subject change. When she saw the hospital building’s blueprints, she found it. “So, when should I plan on starting the construction?”

“Probably not until the construction crew is together.”

“Right.”

Zuko helped push the conversation forward. The meeting continued on normally, but the collar exchange stayed in Zuko’s mind. Katara’s reaching out and touching the collar of his robes took him by surprise. It’s very uncommon that he is ever touched, being the Fire Lord and all. It is even less common that he is touched so casually when wearing his formal robes. When visiting his uncle, the only person who dares to lay a finger on him, he’ll wear his more plain ones. Come to think of it, his last visit there involved a hug with the Waterbender and he hadn’t been touched since that greeting.

Katara touching him felt… nice. He liked the feeling. The only people that ever showed any physical affection in his childhood was his uncle and his mother, before she went missing. Mai wasn’t ever very touchy-feely. Or feely in general. She never really touched him outside of the times that they kissed or were intimate.

When Katara’s fingers brushed against his collar bones, he stifled an already silent gasp of breath. It felt intimate. When the meeting was over, he took a deep breath as soon as Katara walked out of his office door. He retrieved a servant to inform them about him visiting his Uncle’s tea shop and told Iroh everything pertaining to the hospital as soon as he arrived.

“I think that the hospital is a fantastic idea, Nephew!” The two of them were alone in the dimly lit Jasmine Dragon, save for two or three customers that quietly kept to themselves, drinking strong tea to stay awake, looking over papers and getting evening work done, occasionally visiting with one another.

The left corner of Zuko’s mouth turned upwards. “It was Katara’s idea.”

“Master Katara!” Iroh said fondly, “You’ve been sure to make her feel welcome here, correct?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Anyway, we would like to have your help with choosing staff for the construction of the hospital. We figured you might know some people who visit your tea shop that are looking for jobs.” 

“Who is ‘we’” Iroh asked curiously.

“Katara and me,” Zuko answered, getting kind of frustrated.

“Oh! She is in charge of this project as well?”

“Yes,” Zuko said, now impatient.

“So you two must be spending a bit of time together,” Iroh said with a mischievous smile while taking a sip of his tea.

“Uncle, would you like to help or not?”

“I’d love to.” At Iroh’s words, Zuko let out his impatience and anger with a deep breath.

“Have you received a letter from Avatar Aang lately?” Iroh asked.

Zuko, now finally picking up his tea to sip, said, “No. I’ve been too busy to write and I can imagine he has been as well.”

“Last time I spoke to Miss Katara, she commented that it has been four months since she and Aang last wrote to each other.”

“Well, they did recently break up a little while before that,” Zuko commented.

“Interesting. It must have been close to after your break up with Lady Mai.”

“I guess,” Zuko responded to Iroh’s statement like he asked a question.

The two of them continued to drink their tea and keep up conversation crossing over to other various topics.

“You know, Zuko, water is truly beautiful. It plays hand in hand with the rest of the elements more than any other one does.”

“Yeah, I understand,” Zuko responded less than encouragingly, not understanding what he was saying had to do with their previous discussion of corrupt politicians or swordsmanship.

“Water can carve out the hard edges of rocks and make them smooth, leaving them to be better than before. Water and air are so similar that the breeze does nothing to challenge the water, only allowing it to adapt, making them almost incompatible. People often mistake that water and fire are unable to work together, but only fire can challenge water’s passion, it is the only one that has an equal effect on the water in return. They go back and forth, either putting out the flame and still keeping the heat or creating steam that keeps the moisture.”

“Hmm.” Zuko decided to write it off as another one of his uncle’s ramblings of wisdom that seemed out of place to the younger man but was perfectly calculated in the retired General’s mind.

Katara walked down the long floor of the royal gallery, admiring how the lamps’ glow accentuated the oil paintings and making each almost come alive in a mesmerizing, and in some cases, terrifying, way. There were so many of them, and each one had momentous amounts of detail on both the actual model and the background. Going down the line, the waterbender made a game of trying to count and see if a portrait was Zuko’s great-great-great-grandfather or great-great-great-great-grandfather and so on, the game got easier as she got to closer generations. She laughed when she looked above at Sozin's head and saw the painted comet.  _ ‘That became your comet because of you and your nation used it to hurt people. But guess what, Aang used that same comet to kick your grandson’s butt!’  _

The joy in Katara’s heart hid though when she got to Azulon’s portrait and saw his head blocking out the moon and his feet standing on the turtle, knowing what it represented. Ozai’s portrait was the scariest. Not because of the symbolism of the background or anything like that. It was because of  _ him _ . His face had a scowl that combined with the way his eyebrows were pulled together, looked like he was being the harshest kind of condescending. There was far more red than gold, unlike the other portraits, and it made Katara compare that color to the blood that he commanded to be shed.

The next portrait looked a lot different than the last few she saw. It was unfinished, which was understandable since the detailed backgrounds seemed to be used to display various accomplishments that happened over the long period of a Fire Lord’s reign. But the majority of the figure was done. All the men had their hands up in the pictures bending a flame, and so did this one, but it also had lightning being redirected. The royal robes draped nicely across his figure, his hair was completely tied up in a top knot except for the small pieces that were barely too short to fit into the band, and he had what looked like a jubilant expression on his face.  _ ‘He looks hopeful .’  _ Katara observed.

“The artist really got his scar down, wouldn't you agree?” The words came from a voice to Katara’s left that startled her. Katara whipped her head around to see if the unexpected voice belonged to the even more unexpected person that she believed it too. It did. 

“Uh, yeah,” Katara responded to Mai. 

The tall slender woman kept her vision on the portrait and said, “Really, the artist deserves a prize for the perfect resemblance.”

Katara didn’t say anything. She just stayed there and wondered why Mai’s sudden appearance made her feel kind of defensive. She wanted to blame it on the fact that she had fought on the opposing side of the girl for so long, but that wasn’t it. It had been a while since Katara last saw Mai, and she looked different. She sported a new hairstyle in one bun instead of two and her face seemed slimmer. She still carried that irked expression on her face, but she gave off an air that seemed more mature.

Mai must have thought that the silence had gone on long enough or was bored of looking at the painting because she let out a long sigh.

It snapped Katara away from staring down the noblewoman and made her remember her manners. “How have you been?”

“Good, thank you.”

The silence continued again.  _ ‘Why is it this awkward?’  _ “So, I’m guessing you’re here to visit Zuko?”

“Actually I’m here to help with the hospital the two of you are making. Zuko wrote to me a day or two ago and asked if I would be willing to help with finances and funding.” Mai gave a small polite smile.

“Oh! That’s great! I’m so happy you agreed to do it.”

“Of course, it’s a great idea. I feel honored to be a part of it.” 

The smile on Katara’s face grew.

“So, was there a meeting we’re supposed to be attending to?” Mai asked dully.

“Oh, right. It’s in the west wing meeting room.” Katara led them to the meeting, hiding her embarrassment that she spent so much time looking at the portrait of Zuko that she almost forgot about the meeting. Unfortunately, Katara didn’t really know where the west wing meeting room was, only that it was near the royal gallery. Mai must have noticed Katara’s unsurity.

“It’s the door on the right.”

“I know,” Katara lied, feeling a little envious that Mai knew so much more about the royal palace than she did, though it made sense being best friends with Azula and then dating Zuko. Katara promised herself to walk around the palace more later and try to memorize the layout better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRICK YEAH A FOGGY SWAMP BENDER AND FRICK YEAH MAI! I absolutely strong female characters and this franchise has let them come in mass supply. <3
> 
> The next update will be this Friday (3/27).
> 
> Check out the Pinterest board that I made for this fic https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Check out my Tumblr, ask me questions, and be on the lookout for sneak peeks and whatnot. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is staying safe out there!

Katara opened the door for Mai to enter first and then followed in afterward passing by a group of the other ambassadors all chatting and laughing at something Toph said. There wasn’t everyone that would be involved in the hospital building, planning, financing, and employment in attendance, but there was still a large number, about half as big as the group of people involved in the day of the black sun invasion. She sat beside Zuko in the meeting, which made sense as the head of this project, but it still surprised her that it was her sitting beside the Fire Lord instead of one of his advisors. On the other side of him sat Iroh, who gave her a smile and a wink.

Zuko had opened the meeting and made sure to address and introduce the people in the meeting who were to be workers at the hospital, but then turned all of the attention to Katara, who felt lucky that she didn’t get nervous when public speaking like Sokka does.

“Hello everyone and thank you so much for coming and for your interest in and concern for people’s health.” When Katara said she didn’t feel nervous, she spoke too soon, she was beginning to feel a little jittery. She glanced around, both Thala and Iroh gave her a reassuring smile and Toph was faced in the wrong direction but raised a small dirty hand to give a thumbs up nonetheless. Also in their meeting were a couple of members of the construction team Iroh put together and the contractors that Toph and the other earthbending ambassadors were to work with. Finally, she made eye contact with Zuko, he gave her a small and encouraging nod of his head.

The young Southern Water Tribe woman took a deep breath and began again. “The creation of this hospital should succeed many goals and help with the erasure of many problems the Fire Nation has.” She could feel all the Fire Nation dignitaries think, ‘what do you know about our nation’s problems?’ Followed by some insult revolving around the fact that she grew up in a tent. “This includes the low unemployment rate due to former soldiers returning home after the war, as a side effect, because it creates jobs in healing, construction, maintenance, and more. The original goal and reasoning behind this plan were to provide the injured people of the lower and middle class presiding in Fire Fountain city, of which who have hurt most from the war and the after-effects of it, with a more accessible hospital, instead of healers and present those who need it with healthcare at a free and reduced rate.

“Another thing that the Fire Nation is lacking is unity with people from other nations and tolerance for their cultures.” Katara tried not to sound bitter. A few councilmen and royal advisors huffed at Katara’s shared observation. “The Fire Lord brought a council of ambassadors together to help with this problem, as well as other things concerning our home nations of course, but we felt that having healers from different places that have experience in a variety of different fields and now a variety of techniques that can be put together can help with combating that ignorance as well. Not to mention the benefits of having different knowledge and resources, in which everyone can learn from one another.

“Which is why we came up with the idea that an education program can be set up so that inexperienced healers can learn things they otherwise wouldn’t and the more experienced healers can learn from each other. Another suggestion that Zuko made is that this hospital could just be the beginning. With this one seed planted, there could be hospitals like this one presented to more Fire Nation citizens in different parts of the country as well, and maybe even the rest of the world.” 

Zuko smiled at her. She noticed and smiled back at him in return.

“Do you have anything to add?” She asked her project partner confidently.

“Yes, Fire Lord. We would like to hear from you about what you have to say about all of this.” 

Zuko made eye contact with Katara again and then answered the advisor by saying, “When Katara brought this idea to me, we put it into immediate action. I trust these ideas that she and I have worked on together and I also trust her on these topics of healing, social change, and employment rate as she is a Master healer- with and without bending, someone who helped the avatar set peace in the world, and from the Southern Water Tribe: a place that prospered after the end of the war, especially in the area of jobs for everyone who needs them. All the things that I intend to bring here. When it comes to the topic of health and hospitals for those who aren't financially well off, I have personal experience in this subject from when my uncle, Former General Iroh and I,” He gestured with his hand to Iroh and then placed it back at his side, “ventured through the Earth Kingdom as refugees during the days of my banishment.”

Katara watched and observed as some advisors raised a brow and looked back and forth at one another disapprovingly. Apparently, Zuko’s banishment was still kind of a taboo to speak of. Katara found that ridiculous; Zuko didn’t let talking or thinking about it phase him anymore. It’s a huge part of what led him to teach Aang firebending and defeat Ozai, and even more so a big part of what shaped him into the man he was now.

“When my uncle needed a healer, a kind young woman at an Earth Kingdom hospital helped us and healed him even though both parties had little to no money. This behavior of helping strangers despite their low ranking should be encouraged and all the sick and afflicted should be able to receive help despite their financial status.

“But as leaders, we can't tell people to rely on a stranger's kindness and force others to always put others needs before their own when we sit here with the knowledge that if anything were to happen to our health, we’d be able to go to a high ranking hospital only available to the wealthy or our own personal physicians and expect those strangers to always help them, it's not the honorable thing to do. My uncle and I also got a taste of poverty and what it’s like not getting everything we need on that journey, but we know there are people in our nation that have it far far worse, resulting in a life of crime or no life at all. Lots of these people are return soldiers who remain loyal to the Fire Nation and served it for the majority of their lives, families with young children, and elderly who deserve far longer life spans.

“To my advisors and counselors, it is our responsibility to help those people, and to everyone else: thank you so much for doing it too. This plan Katara and I have put together are about seventy percent done and will soon be ready to put into action. Now Katara, as you were saying.”

With the attention shifted back to her, Katara continued. “Thank you. I guess I’ll end by reminding everyone that our next meeting is in four days where we will all talk more, but for now, please speak to one another in your teams and discuss your branches’ individual plan and get your ideas flowing. Also, feel free to come up to me and ask questions and give suggestions.” Thala loudly cheered when Katara finished and people joined in by politely clapping, feeling a bit awkward at the Foggy Swamp woman’s abrasiveness and the loud act of appraisal. 

The contractors were chatting about construction plans. One pulled out the building’s developmental plans drafted on a piece of parchment to show Toph, who blatantly responded by informing her that she couldn’t see them, and then made a joke about her retinal detachment. The ambassador from Omashu gave short snorting laughter which Toph smirked at. Thala and two Fire Nation healers that were still in the meeting room seemed to hit it off. Katara made a mental reminder to ask Zuko about finding more Fire Nation healers, not just foreign ones. Zuko and some of the advisors appeared to be discussing something that made Zuko look not very pleased.

Everyone else seemed to be a part of the trend of discussing and getting to know each other.

As Katara started approaching the trio of healers, she felt a hand briefly on her shoulder. When she turned around and saw Zuko, who seemingly must have momentarily escaped his advisors. “You did great.” Zuko said, “you’re definitely a natural-born public speaker.”

“Thank you,” Katara grinned, “you’re pretty good yourself.”

Zuko smiled sheepishly and then coughed into his fist. “My advisors have requested to speak to me, is there any way that while I’m doing that you could run Mai over some of the staffing and building details so that she can start figuring out some numbers for finances?”

Katara then noticed the tall lean woman standing behind and off to the side a little ways from Zuko not talking to anyone. She was going back and forth between glancing around the room and watching the two of them speak, looking bored but still slightly interested.

The shorter tanner woman nodded her head.

“Alright, thank you. We’ll talk more when we meet tomorrow.” Then Zuko walked over to Mai to say something to her. Katara didn't really catch what they were saying, but she did catch a phrase that was something along the lines of ‘I’ll see you later’ or maybe it was ‘we’ll discuss it later.’

Katara observed the body language of the former romantic partners as they spoke to one another. Zuko’s back was mostly to Katara, making only his broad shoulders and a little bit of the scarred part of his face visible to her and barely anything blocked the gloomy dark girl from Katara’s field of vision. Their movements could be described as stiff and awkward. They kept eye contact and Mai even smiled at him. Since when did she know how to smile? 

Mai’s head turned slightly and her eyes moved to Katara and Katara had to quickly look away to make it look less obvious that she was watching their brief conversation.

While Zuko walked back to his advisors, Mai walked towards Katara. “Zuko told me to talk to you more about the plan,” Mai stated as a self-given invitation and explanation.

“Yeah.” Katara answered the ‘not really a question but should be politely treated as such anyway’ statement. Katara didn’t know how to talk to the woman. It was like at home when she and Sokka were younger and someone would offer Sokka a baby to hold. He would accept it and rock it but look a little uncomfortable the entire time. It was that Mai was so refined and a lot different than Katara was.

The dark and gloomy girl had a thin and tall frame. Katara wasn’t short by any means, she was on the higher of the average side for women for the Southern Water Tribe, but Mai definitely had a few inches on her. Katara was also more developed and would never be able to make the bushy waves of her brown hair look anything like Mai’s sleek black strands that were so shiny. It showed that she grew up in the presence of royalty by the way she kept to herself and kept her back stiff and straight. Katara was a lot different. She knew she wasn't a ‘peasant’ or a ‘floozy’ or any other negative titles she had been called, but by the way, she acted, she guessed she might be considered that by their culture. She was very loud and outspoken, to the point where if someone told her to shut up, she’d talk for even longer to get back at them and as a good final measure. But she took pride in that.

“It’s obvious that he’s trying to get rid of us for some advisory issue, so maybe we should go somewhere and eat some lunch, I’m starving,” Mai suggested. She didn't seem to mind being sent away. Katara did. Thinking about it, Mai must have dealt with it a hundred times growing up and then being the Fire Lord’s girlfriend. Katara didn't want that, she wanted to be in the front of those meetings. 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Katara replied.

“The meeting with his advisors wasn't about the hospital.” Mai monotoned out. “He would have included you if it was.”

She was right. Katara was being silly. “Thank you, Mai. Where would you like to have lunch?”

“We can have it sent up to my room,” Mai responded and then led the way to the room she was staying in. Everyone else in the meeting besides Zuko, Iroh, and his advisors took Katara leaving as their cue to leave as well and they all shuffled out the door.

The women held the silence as they walked past the gallery and through halls that Katara had never been down before. Katara began to realize that the lack of speech or other forms of communication as they walked next to each other was probably really only awkward for her. Mai was usually always quiet and close to silence like this. 

“Honestly, I was looking forward to being one of the people behind this project, but after the Fire Lord’s boring half attempt at a speech, I’m beginning to reconsider.”

Katara made no comment.

“It was a joke,” Mai explained.

“Oh.” Katara gave out a small laugh to not be rude. Katara couldn't help but wonder if Mai had an ulterior motive to aiding with the hospital creation. Not that Katara thought that the goth young woman wasn’t interested in helping the less fortunate and those who were sick and injured, but there was an added bonus to it all too. That ulterior motive possibly being perhaps getting back together with Zuko.

The room Mai was staying in was huge and had a darker feel to it and matched the rest of the palace as well as it definitely proclaimed royalty. The bed was the size of one of the bigger tents in Katara’s village growing up and was topped with a burnt orange blanket and a long white pillow.

“This is Azula’s old room,” Mai said, once again seems to have the ability to read Katara’s mind. Maybe Katara’s facial expressions gave what she was thinking away.

“Oh, you must have been in here a lot growing up, then.”

“Not really, Azula, Ty Lee, and I were mostly at the academy when we hung out together. When we were at the palace, Azula was more of a fan of spying on her father’s important meetings or terrorizing Zuko in the gardens and practicing fighting in the courtyards. Azula wasn’t really the type to have a girly sleepover in her room wearing pajamas and talking about boys. That was more of Ty Lee’s cup of tea. Besides, the place my family lived at the time was so close by that there wasn't really a need to spend the night often when it took about eight minutes to walk home.”

The Master Waterbender and the high ranking Noblewoman sat facing each other at the small table located a little way from the bed, drinking the tea a servant poured for them as the two of them waited for another servant to bring them their food. 

“Oh.” 

“So, how has the Southern Water Tribe been doing? Ty Lee told me in a letter that you've been there for the last six months or so after you were done traveling around with the avatar.”

Katara smiled warmly, “It’s been doing really well. The population has grown a bit due to the small band of people from our sister tribe coming over to help rebuild and all of the soldiers returning home from the war. In fact, right before I left, I helped deliver a baby girl belonging to my father’s best friend, Bato, and his wife.” 

“That’s great news.” 

Katara nodded. “And because we have so many hands around to help now, and with so many of them being waterbenders, we started making ice buildings to reside in like the ones the people live in at the Northern Water Tribe instead of relying on tents with very few igloos and ice huts.”

“There are buildings made out of ice in the Northern Water Tribe?” Mai asked with a hint of amazement.

“Yeah, and in the Southern Water Tribe too now,” Katara affirmed.

“Don’t tell Ty Lee that, she’ll want to go right away to look at what she would refer to them as ‘the pretty crystal buildings’ and also to flirt with your brother.” Mai rolled her eyes.

Katara laughed and Mai cracked a smile and gave a very soft and light chuckle.

“How is Ty Lee doing by the way?” Asking about their mutual friend kept the conversation going.

“She’s doing well, she’s having a lot of fun there. I visited her last month and she seems really happy. Which is saying a lot since she’s already such a happy person.”

“I know that Suki really appreciates her teaching the girls various types of chi blocking,” Katara informed.

“Yeah.” 

They both took a long sip of their green tea.

“How’s Aang?” Mai asked.

“I wouldn’t really know… we broke up.”

“I figured as much since he wasn't here with you and nobody has mentioned the avatar dropping you off,” Mai said. “But I trust you to still know whether or not he’s doing well?”

“I mean, I think so,” Katara replied.

It was awkward again. They both took another long sip of their tea.

Thankfully this time Katara came up with the new topic to converse on. “So what have you been up to lately, Mai?”

Mai set her teacup down to properly answer the question. “I’ve been working in my Aunt’s flower shop lately.”

“That’s so cool, I didn’t know you were into botany.” Really Katara didn't know what she was into besides the Fire Nation, Ty Lee, Azula, Zuko, and knives.

“I wasn’t really before. I honestly just wanted a place to get away to, and visiting my aunt seemed like the best option.”

Katara understood the feeling all too well. “How far away does your aunt live?” 

“Not too far, less than three days of travel.”

“That’s good.”

There was a knock on the door signaling the food arrived. Both of the two stood up to go and get the door but Katara sat right back down remembering this is the room that Mai was staying in so it would be more customary for her to answer the door. When the room’s resident opened the door, in came the same servant that was asked to retrieve their food carrying two trays filled with rice, komodo chicken, and dumplings as well as utensils to eat the traditional Fire Nation dishes with.

As the servant dropped the food off and then turned to leave, Katara gave out a ‘thank you’ and Mai gave a nod to the servant.

Once the servant shut the door, Mai’s voice started up again. “I really hope the servant didn’t spit in my food.”

“Why do you think that she would do that?” Katara asked, genuinely confused. She took a bite of one of her own dumplings on her plate to discover that they were spicier than she originally imagined them to be.

“Some of the younger female staff members didn't like me. I would visit a lot once I became Zuko’s girlfriend after his coronation, and people probably presume that my being here means that the Fire Lord and I are getting back together, though that couldn’t be farther from the truth.” 

It surprised Katara that anyone from the Fire Nation didn’t like the idea of Mai being in a relationship with their Fire Lord and her possibly becoming the future Firelady. She was the daughter of a high ranking dignitary and acted as such. Though judging by the way that Mai said it was the younger female servants, Katara assumed it must be a jealousy thing. But it wasn’t the first part of what Mai said that really caught her attention, it was the last part.

“It couldn’t?”

“No. I’ve definitely moved on and from what I can tell, Zuko has as well. Though the two of us still remain friends, although probably not as close of friends that I can imagine you and the avatar are after your break up. I was mostly Azula's friend before Zuko and I got into a relationship, always too scared to talk to Zuko until after he returned from his banishment because of my young schoolgirl crush.” Mai then took a couple of bites of her spicy food like it was nothing. She must have come to the conclusion that it contained no saliva, or if it did, it didn't matter.

“Yeah.” Katara absentmindedly responded. She wondered, ‘Does Aang still consider me a close friend after our break up?’ She forced her thoughts away from that.

Now that Katara finished her dumplings and rice, she moved onto the Komodo chicken, it was even spicier than the dumplings. The food felt so hot that she felt herself sweating even more than she was before. She began fanning herself with her hands, both the inside of her mouth and body.

Mai noticed her fanning and sweating. “Your Water Tribe clothes must be really hot in the Fire Nation, even with the shorter sleeves.”

Katara had to agree that the fur-trimmed top and the blue pants made from heavy material probably weren’t the best choice that she made for the day. Though Katara thought that Mai must be warm with the long layers she has on but she looked composed and not at all bothered by the heat, leading Katara to believe that the layered fabric must be very thin.

“Well, if you ever need to borrow anything lighter, let me know. Or even if you need to borrow something more Fire Nation traditional for some reason.” Mai said with a smile and it made Katara realize that Mai was trying her best to be her friend and so she smiled at the other girl in return.

As the people scattered out of the room, Zuko had a couple of pretty good ideas of what the advisors wanted to speak on and he didn't like very many of them. The last small group of people filed out and then the door closed. Zuko slowly sat down, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“You wanted to speak to me?” Zuko asked his advisors. He was annoyed that he was stuck doing this instead of spending time with Katara finishing up hospital planning, but tried to not let his annoyance show. They still had so much more to figure out and Katara had more to run by him.

“Yes, sir.” One advisor spoke up, Advisor Lei was his name. “We wanted to speak on future matters regarding your position as Fire Lord.” Well, there goes any hope that what they had to say pertained to anything involved with the meeting they were just in.

“Alright, what about it, in particular, did you want to speak on?” Zuko asked, hoping they’d get straight to the point.

Another advisor cleared her throat and said, “About the potential for a future Firelady and prosperity.”

“I believe that we agreed to a three-year pardon from that subject shortly after Fire Lord Zuko’s coronation in order to work on rebuilding the nation from the damages that the war caused.” Iroh chimed in, putting his hand reassuringly on his nephew’s arm. Zuko was really glad that his uncle was here to help defend himself from these political wolves.

A couple of the advisors chattered quietly, then one said in a clipped tone, “Yes, but isn’t providing the people of the nation with the security of who will be the future leader through children or your wife if something were to happen to your part of rebuilding the nation?”

Zuko took a deep breath and said, “I understand, but once again, didn’t we agree on three years? Yet this is at least the eighth time that my advisors have brought this up since then.” Multiple advisors spoke to give in their thoughts.

“Fire Lord Zuko, those three years are almost up!”

“You’ve reached eligible marriage age already!”

“There are plenty of high ranking women from the Earth Kingdom that would make excellent Fireladies.”

“Think about the Fire Nation’s future!”

“It was thought that with Lady Mai’s return, that maybe the possibility of marriage with her was being reawakened, but by the way that you barely even greeted her, it’s obvious that there isn't a chance of that.”

That last comment made Zuko’s head snap to the advisor who said it. The advisor shrank in his seat with the Fire Lord's piercing angry eyes on him. Zuko rubbed his face and then settled one hand on pinching the bridge of his nose in hopes that it might clear the headache.

The advisors were silent, trying to avoid the small outburst that Zuko was fighting back. Iroh chimed in once again while leaning back in his chair and his hands on his round belly, “I also want my nephew to experience the happiness that comes with finding a wife and starting a family, but I know that should happen when he’s ready. When the time is right, Zuko will either have found a wife himself or is ready to accept a political marriage.” 

The advisors seemed satisfied with this, but one still was brave enough to open his mouth and say, “You need to remember, Fire Lord Zuko, this is one of the responsibilities you carry as the Fire Lord.”

That was the straw that broke the arctic camel’s back. The next thing everyone in the room knew, the Fire Lord was stomping out of the meeting, loudly shouting over his shoulder, “Maybe we should wait to worry about this when I can go five months without an assassination attempt, as it’s also my responsibility to not get killed!”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you and Zuko break up?” Katara asked while looking into her teacup and trying to feign confidence even though her voice still sounded shy. They were done with their food now and were going back and forth between speaking on financial planning business and more casual topics.

“Honestly, it felt like it was time, no matter how hard it seemed. I started the conversation expecting him to disagree or trying to stop me from leaving, but he ended up just agreeing that it wasn’t working. I’m not exactly sure what all he was feeling on his side but I knew what it was like on mine. He was always busy and didn’t always tell me about what he was up to or where he was going, he also didn't want to worry me about the assassination attempts so he never really told me about them and I would find out about them from somebody else. Honestly, when it came down to it, I still held a little resentment for him abruptly leaving to go join the avatar and only leaving a note to tell me instead of ever talking about it with me.” Mai said. It was clear in the vulnerability shown on her face that she was being completely honest.

Katara nodded in understanding. “That must have been frustrating.”

“It was but it’s over now. Besides I’m sure there are reasons for wanting to end things that he had that I don’t know and don’t really care to realize.” Mai said while looking out the window, her teacup between her hands, resting on the table. “What about you and Aang?”

“Oh, uh, kinda the same as you. We drifted apart.” Katara fibbed, and then took a long sip out of her newly refilled teacup. There were too many reasons to name. “Aang never really even asked me to be his girlfriend, it was always assumed that I was, so I became it.”

Mai nodded. They then returned to speaking on the hospital plans and what the price of constructing the building would be. Katara eventually left when Mai said that she promised to write a letter to someone as soon as she arrived but still had yet to. As she walked at the door, she gave Mai a smile and Mai smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guilty confession... I used to hate Mai. But now as a semi-adult, I know that she really doesn't deserve all of the hate that she gets.
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board I made for this fic which you can find here. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Also, follow me on Tumblr, I post updates, teasers, and love answering questions. My direct messages are also always open! https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> The next update will be Tuesday (3/31).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick little warning: there are some ignorant comments about mental health in this chapter. Unfortunately, the people in the avatar universe aren't as #woke as we are.

“How’d I let you talk me into doing this agai- hey don't touch the feet!” The poor woman who came up to perform a pedicure on Toph scattered away. “Katara, why are we doing this again?”

Katara laughed, “Hey, it wasn’t my idea to come here, it was Thala’s.” She said as an older woman washed her hair in a ceramic sink and drizzled warm oil.

“The best damn idea ah had in a while,” Thala said while undergoing a massage. “Ah always wanted to go to a nice spa, an’ not only is this one, but it’s made for royalty.”

The royal spa really must have looked pretty, Toph thought. Even though she couldn't see it, everything smelled great and floral and the lotion that the servant woman applied to her hands felt great making them feel smooth and smelled like pyracantha flowers. She expressed her liking for it out loud and the woman must have thought that meant that she wanted it on her feet too, which is  _ not  _ what she was trying to indicate. She was more than satisfied enough with her feet on the cool stone floor.

Staying in the Fire Nation palace reminded Toph a bit of what it was like being at home, except it was less torturous since she didn't have to pretend to be someone else and hide her bending, which was like hiding like ninety percent of who she was. The architecture may be different, but there was the familiarity of having maids and other kinds of staff around and being addressed by them with a title whether it was ‘Ambassador’, ‘Earthbending Master’, or ‘Lady Beifong’. Though she didn't like the last one as much because it sounded like what people called her mom and she hasn't decided whether or not she missed her mom. 

“Oh, Toph! I know something you’d really like.” Katara exclaimed.

“Leaving?”

Katara rolled her eyes, “I meant something to do here at the spa.” Katara got the attention of the older spa attendant who was washing and brushing through her hair and whispered something in her ear. 

The woman nodded and responded with a “Yes, Master Katara,” and then scurried away to prepare something.

“Did ya guys hear about what happened last night?” Thala asked.

“No. What happened?” Toph was truly a huge gossip although she’d never realize it, and if she did, she would never admit it.

“Apparently late last night, there was an attack on a healer’s abode in a teeny tiny town in the left upper corner of the Fire Nation, at least that’s what I heard from two stuffy dignitaries this morning at breakfast.”

“An attack? Is that for real?” Toph asked. Attacks still weren't uncommon since the end of the war, but still pretty unsettling to hear about. It was also pretty uncommon for those attacks to take place in small villages instead of larger cities.

Katara chimed in, “Well, they don’t know for sure. The house was burnt all the way down to the ground, but luckily nothing else got burned that was around the house. I heard someone say that when the victim woke up and there was a person in a mask that simply said that what happened was a warning. Though that last bit could just be a rumor, it does sound a little outlandish. Some of the royal guards were going crazy over it.”

“Yikes.” Was Toph’s response.

“Double yikes.” Thala agreed.

“I didn’t know he was a healer. Did you happen to catch his name, Thala?” Katara asked.

“Uh, ah think so, ‘twas something like ‘eye-go’.”

Katara suddenly looked more stressed. “That must be Aiguo. He’s going to be the hospital’s head of psychology,” Thala looked confused, probably not used to medical jargon growing up in a swamp, so Katara clarified, “It’s like mind healing. He was invited to the meeting yesterday but he declined because of how far from where he lived the palace is.”

“Don’t worry, Sweetness. It sounds like he’s fine. Besides, he must have already been movin’ to the capital soon to work on hospital preparations, I bet he’s now goin’ to do it a little earlier than planned.”

Katara pursed her lips to the side in contemplation. “I wonder if it would be alright if I asked Zuko if he could begin offering his practices to some of the people staying in the palace, that way he doesn’t lose his number of patients.”

“I’m sure Sparky would let you convince him of anything if it’s to help with the hospital.”

“Ya know that Fire Lord Zuko sure is attractive,” Thala said, the woman was done with her shoulder massage and sat in a chair next to Toph, getting her own feet massaged now. “And honestly, so was that last Fire Lord, whatever his name was.”

The other two young women turned and faced Thala.

“What? Ya guys don’ think so? I’ve only seen him in portraits but damn. It’s a real shame that such a nice body an’ manly face was paired with such an evil person.” Then in a sing-song voice, she added, “it ain’t that way for the current Fire Lord, though.”

“Um… I mean like, he’s as old as my dad and did try to kill Aang… but I guess he’s attractive in a silver fox antelope kind of way?” Katara offered.

Toph had her eyebrows raised as high as they could go, ”The two of you are crazy. I can’t even see him, but I still know that you’re crazy.”

“Maybe if ya could see him, ya’d change your mind.” Thala countered, now laughing.

“Seriously, doubt it.”

“Anyway,” Thala began, “How’s your avatar friend doing?”

They would both love to answer that question, if only they had one. Even though Katara’s only been there for a little over a week and Toph for two, they expected to have received mail from Aang. But nothing had arrived yet.

“He’s doing fine,” Toph said in a bit of a catty tone.

“What was it like working hard for a good cause as a group of friends and travelin’ ‘round with them?” The two girls found this question refreshing, being used to questions like ‘what was it like to train the avatar’ or ‘was it ever intimidating being his teacher’ and other questions that were questions about Aang, disguised as ones for them.

“It was fun,” Katara answered and bent the water from her hair, now that the washing was done. “We definitely were a family, especially by the end of it, we all went through so much together.”

“Yeah,” Toph agreed, “really, the only bad parts were the odor that came from Aang's socks, hearing Suki sneak into Sokka’s tent at night for  _ ‘fighting lessons’ _ , and feeling annoyed watching Katara mother and smother Aang. But, I was always the perfect traveling partner, so at least there's that.”

“I did not ‘mother and smother’ Aang!”

“Yes, you did.” Toph shot back and then thought in her head,  _ ‘And he still followed you around like a lovesick idiot because he developed some weird form of an Oedipus complex.’ _

Thala snickered. Then the attendant Katara whispered to earlier came in, rolling a large red bathing basin in front of her. “For you, Miss Beifong.”

“Um… what is it?” The woman explained it was a mud bath as she helped the blind girl get into the basin. Immediately Toph loved it.

“Rolling around in warm dirt is always something I can get behind.”

“Actually,” the woman corrected, “It’s a mixture of volcanic ash and mineral water. All organic from here in the Fire Nation, of course.”

“Whatever it’s made of, dirt is still dirt. That’s what makes it awesome. Way better than anyone scrubbing at my feet.”

“Y’know Toph, with how much you care ‘bout feet, I think your best bet for getting a man is findin’ one with a foot fetish,” Thala said her crude thoughts out loud.

Katara went into a full laughing fit.

Toph bent some of the mud out of her bath and hit them both straight in the face with it.

Katara’s strong arms lifted up over her head before she pulled them back down. She pivoted her feet and bent the water in the nearby fountain to wrap around her arms with harsh movements. She had a free moment, so she was going over some of the plant bending techniques that Thala taught her in one of the royal gardens. A mother turtle duck and her babies were watching her and splashing around quacking loudly, indicating that they were having fun. But they stopped when a man approached behind Katara, one she didn't really feel like seeing. The mother turtle duck looked at Haruk, menacingly quacked, and then quickly corralled her kids together to swim away. Haruk didn’t notice. 

When Katara noticed Haruk, she respectfully stopped bending and turned to face him, but he took that as a cue to go a little closer than she would have liked.

“Why’d you stop?” He asked. She’s been over this to him before, the whole him approaching her alone to not really have any form of a conversation but ensuing one-sided flirting (was it flirting? Katara didn’t think Haruk knew what actual flirting was. He would just brag about himself and then comment abrasively on her appearance), while Katara found an excuse to leave. She was getting faster and better at finding excuses.

“Oh. Uh-”

“You’re very beautiful when you bend. There’s a festival going on tonight in the next town over. We should go.”

“Thank you, Haruk, but I actually already have plans tonight.” She didn't. Haruk had a bad habit of interrupting her when she spoke. Katara hated being interrupted. It was a match made in heaven. Or some ironic part of the spirit world.

“I may not be able to bend, but I’m a great strategist.”

“I’ll bet,” The waterbender said with a clearly fake smile, eyebrows raised, only slight sarcasm in her tone but full sarcasm in her mind. She doubted he was half as good at strategizing as Sokka.

“You should keep bending, I’d like to watch.” 

“No, really. It's okay.”

“Don’t be shy,” She wasn’t being shy, she didn’t like using her bending to put on a show. Especially for Northern Water Tribe men who would stare at the body parts not used for bending while she was doing it. Unfortunately, she encountered a few like that at home and now she had Haruk here, probably getting ready to do the same thing.

“I'm not shy, I just don't feel like i-”

He got even closer and lowered his voice to what he probably was a sultry tone, “Bend for me.”

Katara blinked at him for a couple of seconds, one eyebrow raised in an ‘ _ I can't believe you just said that’  _ kind of way.

It was clear in his smirk that he understood it was a euphemism and intended it.

Katara wasn't a violent person, but she wanted to be at that moment. Maybe she wasn't clear enough? No, Katara wouldn't allow herself to think those inner excuses that were pressed into her. 

So with a shove out of her way, Katara stomped off. Haruk laughed as she walked off, not taking the hint that  _ yes, she actually was mad, not trying to feign it to seem cute, you moron. _

The prison underneath the palace was dark and damp. The dreary gray of the walls and floor were a contrast to the incredibly vibrant red and gold hues the rest of the palace. The darkness was due to its small amount of lanterns. The small number was due to not wanting the prisoner to be able to harness and bend the fire and use it to attack the guards, even if the guards were all handpicked from a group of incredibly skilled firebenders. None of them were pure naturals like she was at the ability, and they couldn't take their chances against such a conniving inmate.

The Fire Lord walked slowly towards the cell-like he’d get burned if he made one wrong step out of place. He was one of the only people besides the guards that knew where her cell was.

He took one last deep breath before opening the heavy door and entering to talk to the girl that was kept inside. When she saw him, a mix of emotions lit her face, mischievousness being one of them. “Hey, Zuzu.”

Zuko didn't let the nickname bother him. “How are you, Azula?”

“I’m great. In fact, you know what,  _ Fire Lord _ ?” She said his title like it was an insult. “I’ve changed, I’m now a good person who is ready to be released and rejoin society. You believe me, don’t you, big brother?”

“Sorry, I try not to believe compulsive liars.”

Azula laughed loudly and maniacally. “Awww, but you used to be so good at it.”

“I’m not going to release you just because you say you’ve changed, Azula.”

The actual cell Azula was staying in was pretty nice as far as prison cells go. Zuko had it redone to be larger so that she had space to move around and was nicely decorated with a bed that was added in for her to sleep on. Her living situation was also pretty great considering she was a war criminal serving her sentence, but Zuko didn’t want to look at it that way, he wanted it to be more about her need for psychiatric help.

To help her feel less bored all day in her cell, he brought her scrolls to read and write in with ink. At first, she would burn them, but now she would write scary things or draw pictures of him, Mai, Ty Lee, or Aang beheaded or bleeding to death. It was hard to tell if that was an improvement or not. She also got fed three times a day. Not with food as good as she ate growing up in the palace, of course, but a step or two up from a prison meal of a stale roll and some cold porridge.

Azula didn’t look too much like a prisoner either, just not like her old self. Part of that was due to being locked up and part was due to her insanity. Her hair was down and recovering from being partly singed off in some places (that was her own doing). She was thinner, not having the same amount of muscle mass that she had before and there were self-harm marks all over her body from her manic episodes that the royal physician was brought in to heal. She was dressed in a simple light brown clothing and a black pair of socks. She was also given the opportunity to bathe twice a week. She almost always refused due to not wanting anyone to touch her since she wasn't allowed to bathe without a female guard assisting her.

There was a long list of reasons Zuko had Azula kept in the palace instead of at the Boiling Rock like their father was. They included, but were not limited to Zuko caring about his sister. He’s seen the process of the insanity eating away at her mind and he didn’t want to lose her completely. At the very least, he still wanted to see her as much as he could until she succumbed completely. Azula’s mentality would go back and forth in phases. This visit seemed to be one of her most sane times despite what she was saying.

“Are the guards treating you okay?” Zuko asked, curious and concerned.

“Awwww, look! You’re trying to be a caring brother and still an authoritative leader.” Azula mocked him.

Zuko sighed, “I’m worried because of your health.”

Azula’s mouth and nose snarled. “Then you should release me! I’m a good person now, I’m such a good person that the whole world will be brought to their knees and bow because of my humility.”

“Even if you have changed, you still wouldn’t be safe because of your broken mind.” Zuko ignorantly stated.

Azula’s eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. “Obviously you must feel really insecure that your people can’t even trust you if you released me.”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed in return. “What would you know about that?”

Azula’s dry and chapped lips formed an evil smile, happy that her brother took the bait. “If people really trusted you, why would me, your  _ poor mentally unhealthy sister _ ,” her tone when referring to herself was a mocking one, “not being locked up and hidden away pose such a threat?”

“It’s not for my appearance, it’s for people’s safety and your health!” Zuko’s fists clenched by his sides.

“You’re not a natural-born leader like each of the past Fire Lord’s have been, Zuzu. Everyone can see that you’re only a follower. You followed Dad, then me, then Dad again, and then you followed the avatar and became one of his little sidekicks. The only time you followed your own command is when you were banished and set out to capture the avatar and you didn’t accomplish anything.”

Zuko huffed. He wanted to believe that Azula was telling lies, but what she was saying, unfortunately, sounded pretty accurate.

“It’s a good thing you have the avatar on your side, I guess because that’s the only reason part of the world trusts you. The rest of the world still sees you for what you are: a coward. The scar is still there and still shows your cowardice of not being willing to fight Dad. Everyone can see that scar and what caused it.”

Zuko turned away and clenched his eyes shut and ground his teeth. He didn’t want to hear this, but he couldn’t get himself to walk away from her or her condescending words. 

“Even having the title of ‘Fire Lord’ is a joke when you're probably just asking our dear old uncle for help with everything. Aren’t  _ you  _ supposed to be the one running this country?”

“Shut up!” Zuko shouted. There wasn't any way that she knew all of this. She was only guessing, but it still hurt that she was right.

Azula responded by moving closer and matching her volume to his. “If I was the Fire Lord,  _ a title I clearly deserve with or without Dad giving it to me- _ ” She gritted the part about being on the throne out of her teeth. “I would be building this country to the best it could be, regardless if we won the war or not, which we would have. I would work by myself and pour my heart and soul into this nation.”

_ “I am!” _

“I heard the guards talk about your little ambassadors and how you’ve worked so hard on kissing up to the other countries and begging for their forgiveness. Have you even made any changes to the Fire Nation? Or has everything you’ve done been to help other countries, putting our country behind even though it should  _ always  _ be your first priority!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zuko raged.

Azula’s evil smirk returned. “Oh, don’t I?”

Zuko didn’t respond, he left and slammed the door to her cell shut behind him. Then he leaned with his back against the door and took a couple of deep breaths.

“Is everything alright, Fire Lord Zuko?” The guard asked. He had a concerned look on his face, which was clear since the guards were no longer required to wear those giant heavy helmet masks. Zuko didn’t even notice the guard standing there when he got out of the room. It made sense for him to be there, standing so close to the door and listening in to make sure Zuko wasn’t in danger and to come in right away if Zuko called for him.

“Uh, yeah. Yes. I’m fine.” He stood up from where he was leaning against the cold metal door. Zuko felt bad for not knowing the man’s name, especially since he was one of the guards whose job it was to watch the crazy sister of his. There were five guards which were to watch around Azula’s cell at once and occasionally check up on her. 

The guard nodded his head and then stepped away. He had a very particular appearance with thick flat eyebrows, a wide nose, and a thin mouth.

Zuko turned his attention away, realizing that he had been staring at the other man for far too long to be casual, and  _ no _ , he did not need  _ those  _ rumors to start up again as they did after his break up with Mai.

“Has anyone else been down to visit her since I last did?” Zuko asked. That was the real reason that Zuko was there to visit his sister. He heard a rumor or two that the attack that took place in the outer edge of the Fire Nation was connected to Azula or Ozai supporters. Zuko was worried that someone had somehow contacted Azula, or worse, that the house burning down was a distraction to break the estranged Fire Princess out of the hidden place she was kept.

The guard raised one of his eyebrows, “No, Sir.”

“Good. Inform me immediately if there are any disturbances. Also, the guarding staff will go from three at a time to four.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Thank you, that is all.”

The guard connected his fist to the bottom of his palm to do the formal Fire Nation bow.

Zuko turned and started his trek back through the long cold halls, back up to the main part of the palace. As he walked, Azula’s words chewed harshly at his mind and feelings.

He needed some time alone to think. (Brood). Zuko considered the places he could go to and the things that he could do in order to be alone. He could go to his office but some dignitary would probably just  _ happen to be walking by _ and say something like ‘well since you seem to not be doing anything too important-’ and try to start a meeting with him. He could request that food be brought to his room since he went to see Azula while the majority of the palace was eating dinner, but he didn’t feel all that hungry. Plus, if he stayed in his room, Iroh might come and see him and then ask what's wrong and Zuko didn’t feel like speaking to his uncle about this current issue at the moment.

Zuko had a good idea in his head of where he really wanted to go, but he’d have to check and make sure no one else was there first.

He arrived at the turtle duck pond and was pleased to discover that he was alone. It was such a pretty place to be while the late August sun was barely beginning to go down. The turtle ducks peacefully swam around, the babies making sure to stay close to their mom. Unfortunately, not even the light reflecting on the water or the turtle ducks could distract his mind.

Zuko let out a sigh and let his shoulders slump. He felt pathetic that Azula’s words were able to have any power over him at all, but they felt so… true.

Zuko desperately wanted to be a good leader of his nation. He definitely wanted to be a better one than Ozai was at least. What was worse is that Zuko was sure there were people who didn't think he was as bad as a Fire Lord as his father (the man who was more than willing to sacrifice his own people of the nation he was ruling over,  _ his own children _ , so that his level of power would rise a little more) was, but even worse. And he was also sure those weren’t only the original power-hungry supporters of the war.

_ ‘Do lots of people agree with what Azula said? Do lots of people think that I care more about the other nations than the one that is my home and responsibility?’ _ Zuko pondered. Zuko didn’t think that people necessarily felt that way, but Azula phrased it too well to ignore.

It’s true that Zuko had been providing funds and materials for the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom. Zuko found that to be a necessary step in regaining the honor of the Fire Nation after starting the terrible war that lasted far too long and the brutal treatment they dealt out during it. It also wasn't just beneficial on the account of regaining honor, there were also alliances formed and agreements on trades of foreign foods, items, animals, and resources. The Fire Nation citizens could see that, right?

Or did they think that the Fire Lord hasn't made enough change in their own country that it didn't even matter? Zuko knew he had made major and meaningful changes, but he couldn't bring himself to think of what any of them were at the moment.

Zuko knew he relied on his uncle a lot, maybe even too much for a young adult man and leader of a country, for both personal and political advice, but it was so much easier to listen and discuss with him on matters of the Fire Nation than it was with his advisors and the royal councilmen who would argue instead of discussing and yell instead of speak. When they brought up the whole ‘get married or you’ll be a disgrace’ thing, that was a perfect example of their incompetence and lack of understanding.

Thinking about that conversation the other day gave him a headache. They had the audacity to say that he must not care enough about his country if he’s not willing to get married so quickly to someone that they have to approve of. He obviously  _ does _ care about his country if he works all hours of every day to lead it and make it better and then still suffer doubts about himself making a difference. He shouldn't have to be forced into a political marriage at such a young age in such an early stage of his ruling to prove that.

Zuko exhaled steam out of his nose, he was getting angrier. He didn't  _ want  _ to be angry, even though all that was left was feeling sad and anxious. But, he didn't want that rage he had in his heart from the age of thirteen to sixteen, so he inhaled in through his nose, held the breath there for a couple of seconds, and then exhaled through his mouth. He was still so frustrated though, so he put his face in his hands, covering his furrowed brows and frown.

Now that she was done eating dinner, Katara returned to the turtle duck pond, sure that Haruk was most likely doing something else, to continue her bending practice. Katara was still greeted with a man, though. But this one wasn't the Northern Water Tribe Ambassador, it was the Fire Lord.

He had his face in his hands so Katara assumed he was tired, but when he brought his hands away from his face and kept his thoughtful gaze on the water, she was able to see how upset he was.

Katara had to take a second and think about how to approach this. Different people needed different kinds of comfort when upset, and Katara knew this. Sokka preferred to be distracted, while Aang when he didn't run away, preferred to hug until he felt better when he was upset. Zuko’s personality was a little… explosive and she’s seen him upset plenty of times in different forms for different reasons and had a range of reactions. She figured that if she wanted to help her friend who looked to be feeling blue, she’d have to feel it out and see what kind of comfort he needed.

She walked up and sat next to him as quietly as she could, but he must have heard her coming because without taking his gaze away from the water, he said, “Hello, Katara.”

She smiled, happy that he didn't angrily tell her to go away. She scooted a little closer and gently asked, “Do you want to talk about what’s wrong?”

“No,” Zuko responded grumpily. He still wasn’t looking at her.

When he didn't respond right away, Katara moved to start standing up to leave, but stopped when she heard him say, “You can stay.”

The two of them sat there in silence watching the turtle ducks swim around until eventually, Zuko opened up a little about what was bothering him about feeling like he wasn't a good enough leader and that he was failing his country, he made sure to leave out the part of people wanting him to get married though because that's a little embarrassing.

All the while when he was speaking, Katara kept watching him, although he rarely met her eyes with his, and nodded her head in understanding and remained quiet, only chipping in with small things every once in a while. Once he was done talking, the comfortable silence started back up again. 

When Zuko originally set out after meeting with Azula, he wanted to be alone, like he usually does when he’s in a bad mood, but he found himself feeling grateful that Katara was there and he wasn’t alone.

After a beat or two, Katara gave her response, “You know Zuko, I think you’re a great Fire Lord.” She was facing him now with her hand resting comfortingly on his shoulder.

“No offense, Katara. But, your opinion is biased as one of my friends and you also aren’t a citizen of the Fire Nation.”

“That’s true, but you haven't started any wars or have any plans of genocide, so that’s something.” She said it in a way to try to make him laugh. All he did was shrug.

Katara sat and thought for a moment and then came up with an idea. She was sure Zuko wouldn't want to go through with it but she thought she’d offer it nonetheless, even if it made her look a little crazy. “I heard there is a festival going on tonight in the city over. Do you know anything about that?”

He looked at her, confused at where this tangent came from. “In Caldera City? Yeah, it’s called The Fire Days Festival.” 

“Well, I was thinking,” Katara felt like Sokka, pitching a plan that could either be met well or deemed ridiculous. “That maybe we could go.”

Zuko looked at her confused.

“Let me explain. You see, when traveling pre-Sozin’s Comet with only Aang and Sokka, we went to a festival like that with masks so we didn't get found out, and I noticed that the people were from the middle and lower class, and we could talk to them and hear how they feel about the work done during your administration.”

“Uh-” Zuko began.

“I’m not finished. We could dress in casual Fire Nation clothes and wear those street masks they sell so we don’t get recognized. What better way is there to find out about your people than to be one and talk to them as one yourself?” All of Katara’s ideas left her mouth and she waited for Zuko to say that it didn’t sound like a good idea or they’d get caught or something.

But with a small mischievous smile on his face, he said, “It  _ has _ been a while since I snuck out.”

“And since you’ve had a break for constantly working.” Katara agreed, “But this also doesn't have to be a break if you want. We can think of it as hospital building work. Who knows? We might discover some healers in need of employment or something.”

The smile that was small on Zuko’s face became much bigger. “I’ll let my head servant know that I will be busy tonight in a very important meeting with Ambassador Katara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, writing in Toph's pov made me so happy. We needed a little update on how the almighty Melon Lord was doing. 
> 
> Thanks again as always for reading! I really appreciate it.
> 
> Check out my Tumblr. I answer asks and post sneak peeks. I would love to get to interact with you guys!  
> https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> I have a Pinterest board for this fic and a couple of others I've written. Go check them out! https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/
> 
> I won't be updating until next Tuesday (3/7) due to all of my online school stuff (gross). Thank you guys for understanding. <3


	6. Chapter 6

Katara quietly knocked at the door and quickly slipped inside to avoid being seen by people who could possibly be passing by. Earlier by the pond, Katara and Zuko decided to meet in his room and he instructed her how to get to the back door that was more hidden and not surrounded by guards.

Zuko’s room was  _ huge _ . And that was just the part that Katara could see. It had to be three times the size of the one Katara was staying in and twice the size of the one Mai was staying in. It, of course, was decorated in a lot of red, but there was so much gold too. The carpet was a herati print and there were paintings on the walls of different landscapes. The curtains on the windows were a floral tapestry and the sheets and the blankets on the large four-poster bed looked softer than silk and were topped with many brightly colored pillows. Attached to the room were two more wooden doors with artful carvings Katara assumed led to a bathroom and a closet. Out of one of those doors came Zuko wearing a very recognizable outfit.

“You still have that outfit?” Katara asked.

“No, it’s new.”

“But it looks exactly like the one you had when we were all at the Western Air Temple.”

“Yeah, I really liked the style, so when I grew out of it, I asked the royal seamstress to make me one like it. She was relieved, hating that I still owned the old tattered one. This is the first time I’m wearing it since I’m always required to be dressed as royalty.”

“It’s a good thing you had it remade because it’s coming in handy.” The waterbender looked down at her own outfit. “Does what I’m wearing work? I’m not an expert on middle-class casual Fire Nation clothing.”

Zuko examined it and said, “It’s definitely more casual, but all the layers make it something a noblewoman would probably wear.” He looked back up at her, “Where did you find these clothes?”

“Um…”

_ Katara quietly knocked and patiently waited for the other woman to answer the door. _

_ When she opened the door, she appeared to already be wearing her sleepwear which, like most of her everyday clothes, include black accents. _

_ “Hi,” Mai answered. _

_ “Hi.” How is it that Katara still felt awkward around this woman? “Remember when you said I could borrow some clothes?” _

_ “Uh, yeah.” Mai sounded bored, but that wasn’t anything new. _

_ “Can I do that?” _

_ “Right now?” She raised a thinly plucked eyebrow. _

_ “Uh, yeah… I thought that the blue might draw too much attention, I’m… going shopping.” _

_ “At night?” _

_ “Yep. It’s for some stuff. I promise I’ll have them back tomorrow morning. I need something more casual.” _

_ “Yeah. Okay.” Mai said and then opened the door wider for Katara to come in. _

“Nevermind, it doesn't matter, let’s just fix it a little,” Zuko said and then stepped forward to undo the intricate clasp holding together the burgundy dress-like vest. As he placed his hands at her collar bones on each side of where the button was, he looked her in the eye unintentionally, and they both remembered when Katara went to adjust his collar when they were in his office. They both quickly looked away and continued doing what they were doing. Zuko was blushing while he was  _ ‘undressing’  _ Katara, and Katara was thinking about how to sneak out of the palace, unaware of Zuko’s tinted face.

They also removed her gloves and large black waist wrap which left her in a structured shirt with long wide sleeves and a modest neckline. The dress’ hemline ended in between the knee and the ground. It was paired with a pair of light red poofy pants underneath it and pointed shoes (which Katara thought always looked funny, no matter how much Zuko insisted otherwise), and of course, her mother’s blue necklace.

Zuko walked over to the full body mirror on the closest wall near the small sitting area and started adjusting his hair, taking out the royal hairpiece and readjusting it to how it previously was. 

“Are you going to wear your hair in a standard top knot?” Katara asked.

“I was going to, why?” He said, looking at her through his reflection in the mirror.

“No reason, I noticed you wear your hair in that style a lot now,”  _ As in always. _

“Well,  _ it is  _ a pretty common style in the Fire Nation.”

Katara looked at the top of his head and thought for a second. “Can I do something to it?”

He paused and seemed to be contemplating. “Sure?” He answered like it was a question. 

When she walked over, he bent his knees a bit so that she’d be able to reach. She took the tie out and his hair fell in front of his face, past his chin, reaching his sternum and she began to run her fingers through it. It felt nice. His hair felt soft and her fingers felt soothing.

He was facing the mirror and she was right behind him. Katara assumed that his calves and knees were beginning to ache from bending down for so long, but he wasn’t saying anything, so she continued tugging his hair in different directions.

It didn’t take long before she said, “done,” and stepped away. He looked in the mirror. His hair looked like his usual top knot. He reached around to feel the back to discover that the area from the nape of his neck to the crown of his head felt textured.

“I braided the underneath part. I’ve always wanted to do it on someone, but Sokka reshaved the underneath part of his hair and Toph won’t let me go anywhere near hers.” She said.

He turned and looked at her in person instead of through the mirror, “I like it. You did a good job.”

She smiled and blushed a little at his compliment. “Thanks.”

Zuko walked across the room to one of the doors and went into it. Katara glanced in and saw that she was right, it was a closet. A really big one. When the soon to be undercover Fire Lord walked out, he was carrying two wooden masks. He handed one to her while he said “here”.

She examined the mask closely in her hands. It looked to be carved and painted to resemble a blue dragon. She looked at the one he was holding and noticed that it looked a lot like hers, except that it was red. She commented that Zuko must have a thing for blue masks as it seemed to be a recurring theme for him to own them.

Zuko rolled his eyes with a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

As they both tied their masks behind their head, the blue dragon asked, “Where did you get these?”

“My mom gave them to me when I was little after one of the times that we went and saw ‘Love Amongst the Dragons’ on Ember Island. It’s her favorite play. They use masks just like these.” The red one responded.

Katara noticed how he said ‘it’s her favorite’ instead of ‘it was her favorite’ but didn’t comment. “So what characters are we?”

“I’m the Dragon Emperor that gets cursed by the evil water spirit and you’re the Dragon Empress.”

Katara tilted her head a little to the side and crossed her arms. “Your people really don’t like water, do you?”

He looked at the ground and then shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I kinda like it.”

Katara rolled her eyes with an affectionate smile on her face.

“I used to have the mask for the evil water spirit, it’s the one I used to be the blue spirit. But I don’t have it anymore.”

“Where is it now?” Katara couldn't help it, she was curious by nature.

“Lake Laogai. This way,” He gestured with his head, “I’ll show you the way we’ll sneak out.”

Katara knew that the palace had underground tunnels, but she never would have guessed that there were hidden passageways inside the above-ground structure until Zuko led her through one so that they could get outside and to the festival without anyone being aware that the Fire Lord left the palace. “How did you find out about these?” She whispered.

“Iroh. Apparently, it's a tradition that only the Fire Lord knows about them.” Zuko spoke at a normal volume which signaled to Katara that she didn’t have to whisper.

“If only the Fire Lord is supposed to know about them, how does Iroh?”

Zuko shrugged. “I don’t know. He kind of just seems to know everything. My guess is that Azulon told him when he was originally supposed to be Fire Lord because he was his favorite.” Zuko had a flame in his hand so that they could see. They were walking at a relatively average pace. Well, an average pace for Zuko’s long legs, and slightly above moderate for Katara’s shorter ones.

“Well, thank you for sharing these secret passageways with me.” She smiled up at him.

A very slight, easy-to-miss blush lit up Zuko’s face and he coughed and said, “No problem.” The passageway led them to an area around the left side of the palace, where they snuck around the guards and through a hole in the gate. 

Katara observed how Zuko knew exactly how to sneak around his guards and figured that he must have done it before. That thought put a smirk on her face,  _ ‘same old Zuko.’ _

Zuko could hear and smell the festival before he saw it. There was the sound of kids laughing, adults talking, and people cheering and the delicious smell of flaming fire flakes. It brought back nostalgia from when he was a child.

The whole scene of the festival looked artistic with the soft glowing light of the decorative red lanterns that were strung from building to building. There were a variety of booths of games and vendors, lots of the games being participated in by little kids and adults, almost all wearing masks.

Zuko was in awe of how many people from different Nations were there. It was still about seventy-five percent Fire Nation heritage, but still, that’s a big change. He made it illegal to exclude anyone from work, services, or community activities because of their ethnicity and he was very glad that was taking effect. He turned to Katara, who seemed to be enjoying watching the puppet show, which looked to be about an evil spider snake that tries to control the mind of a princess before she found out if the princess made it out alive. 

“So what’s the plan?” Zuko asked after walking to stand next to her.

“Oh, uh…” Katara stuttered, seemingly embarrassed that she already got so easily distracted by the kids’ festival activities. Zuko wondered if she has attended very many festivals aside from the one she told him about. “I guess we just casually start conversations with people to get their opinions on things and enjoy the festival.”

Zuko nodded, “Let’s start then by exploring the festival a little bit.”

As they walked through the crowd, Zuko was relieved to see that their disguises were working, even with the more elaborate masks that they were wearing compared to most other people’s.

“Everyone looks so much happier than they were under Ozai’s reign.,” Katara observed out loud.

“Yeah,” Zuko had to agree. “But it could just be the festival.”

“What are they celebrating?” Katara asked.

“The obvious answer would be for the Fire Nation culture and the art of firebending. The Fire Days festival used to only take place in the Fire Nation Colonies, to bring the culture of the Fire Nation to those who lived so far away.” He recited the history he was taught about the festival by scholars he would barely pay attention to when he was younger, “But now the colonies are now almost done with the process of belonging back to the Earth Kingdom. My guess of what happened is that the people who started the festival wanted to keep it going, so now they travel around and have it at different locations each year.”

“We do something like that where we celebrate our traditions and stuff each year on the winter solstice.” Zuko saw as Katara’s eye caught a sign and she got excited. She grabbed Zuko’s arm with one hand and pointed with the other. “Zuko, there’s a fortune teller. We should go!”

She moved her hand from his upper arm to his elbow and led him to the crimson tent that had the sign on it. When they entered, they were met with a pregnant woman holding a crying baby.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said, “The fortune-teller had to leave for a moment, due to what she said was something important.” As the baby’s crying got louder and louder, the woman seemed to be growing more and more frustrated. She tried rocking the baby, but to no avail, it kept crying. 

“It’s alright, thank you for your time,” Zuko said quietly, about to step out.

“May I hold the baby?” Katara asked.

The woman looked at Katara with uncertainty, not knowing if she could trust the baby with a stranger who was wearing a mask. She must have decided that the darker-skinned woman with the thick light hair didn’t look dangerous at all because the woman held out the wailing child and responded with, “sure.”

Katara took the baby and gently rocked the baby back and forth and began to gently whisper what Zuko recognized as a traditional Southern Water Tribe song. The baby listened to Katara’s gentle voice and felt lulled by the comforting swaying movements. Its eyes fluttered closed and it was pulled into a light sleep. Katara handed the baby back to the woman. It didn’t surprise Zuko one bit that Katara was so good with small children.

“Thank you.” The woman said with a grateful smile.

“Is it yours?” Katara asked.

“No, she’s my sister’s.” The woman responded. “But, I’m about to have mine pretty soon.” The woman said, gesturing to her large round tummy that was heavy with child. “I came to the fortune teller to try and find out what the gender of the baby is going to be.”

“Congratulations.” Zuko offered.

“Thank you,” the woman responded, “I really hope that I don’t have it before that hospital is built because from what I hear, it’s supposed to be really great.” The corners of Zuko’s lips turned upward and he took a quick glance at Katara.

Katara and the woman were chatting back and forth when suddenly an older woman entered the tent with large flashy jewelry around her neck and on her wrists. “You people,” the new woman gestured to all of them, “Go talk outside about your hospital.”

Zuko wondered how she knew what they were talking about, but followed the woman’s command to go outside and speak there.

They talked about the hospital right outside of the tent with large groups of smiling people passing by, particularly on pregnancy care and delivery. Zuko nodded at the words the soon to be mother said and occasionally asked questions. Katara soaked in all the suggestions and concerns that the woman was saying like it was sunlight.

At one point the baby woke up again and started crying, so Katara took the baby back to help to return it to its slumber. While the child was writhing around, it knocked the mask off of Katara’s face. Katara was at first, concerned, but when the woman and no one around them at the busy festival made no move, probably chalking up her tan skin to being a lower class citizen who spent too much time in the sun or something of the like, she decided to leave the mask off since her face wasn’t nearly as recognizable as the Fire Lord’s for obvious reasons.

“I actually would love to learn about healing someday and become a healer myself.” The woman said.

Katara beamed. “You should! I actually heard that there are going to be classes in the hospital to train new healers.” The reply made the other woman giddy.

When the woman and they parted ways, Katara and Zuko played a couple of carnival games against each other. He didn’t have to take off the mask for Katara to know that Zuko was smiling and having fun. It matched the atmosphere, even the volunteer workers and performers who were running the festival seemed to have grins on their faces.

“Everyone seems really happy,” Katara commented to the man who was dealing out the fire gummies to people. Zuko handed a little container of them to her and then grabbed one for himself. He lifted the mask on his face slightly to right below his nose and popped some of the spicy carnival food into his mouth. Katara watched the movement before turning back to the vendor when he spoke.

“A lot of people have been in better spirits since the Fire Lord gave news of a hospital, plenty of the people who live around here that have been unemployed are now a part of its construction.” The man hummed happily to himself as he dished up more of the candies and handed them to a little girl who was playing with a toy sword.

Large crowds passed by all seeming to be heading to the same place. “Where are they going?” Katara asked nobody in particular.

“There’s a wedding,” the vendor replied. 

Katara felt her face light up. She caught Zuko watching her, but didn’t comment on it.“Where?” 

“Down the road and to the left.” The vendor helpfully supplied.

“Can we go?” Katara turned around and asked Zuko with her hand placed on his forearm.

The masked man shrugged, “I don’t see why we can’t try, usually when people have weddings on the same nights as festivals, they’re open for everyone to attend.”

“Perfect.” She absentmindedly grabbed his hand and led him down the street, following the instructions she was given after giving a nod and a “Thanks!” to the vendor.

The wedding scenery was beautiful. It was smart to have a wedding at the same time as a festival, Katara admired because the town was already beautifully decorated and all the people were gathered. Two large wooden doors opened and out walked two men hand in hand wearing gold, both holding a bouquet of fire lilies. At the sight of them, everyone started clapping and when they kissed, the crowd began to cheer even louder. The attendee lit up the sparklers in their hands, and those who couldn’t firebend were assisted by those who could.

When the two men kissed, Katara’s eyebrows raised and a smile grew on her face in realization. She turned to Zuko, “They got married!” 

“We’re at a wedding,” Zuko said as if to say ‘duh.’

“I didn’t know it was legal to do that here.” Same-sex marriage was legal but very uncommon where Katara was from and she knew that it wasn’t heard of at all in the Northern Water Tribe (although that’s not too shocking because Gran Gran and Sokka can attest to that culture not allowing people to marry who they want to). Really the only place Katara saw it take place, was in certain areas in the Earth Kingdom when she was traveling with Aang.

“It wasn’t for a long time,” Zuko answered as the happy couple loaded up onto ostrich-horses and waved goodbye to friends and family. Zuko elaborated, “Fire Lord Azulon made it forbidden, it wasn’t until two years ago that it was brought back.”

“You did that?” Katara asked with the pride she had for him showing. Now that the ceremony was over people were shuffling out to get to the night’s final activities.

“Yeah.” Zuko nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, “The fireworks are about to start, let’s get out of here and find somewhere to watch them.”

Due to the festival already being almost over, they chose to watch the fireworks from a more remote place closer to the palace. They laid on the cold grass as the bright reds and oranges blasted through the night sky and its crackling noise filled the air. Their masks were off and placed beside them since nobody else was around. They were laughing at something funny that Katara had said.

“Woah, look at that one!” Katara said while pointing to a particularly large blast.

Zuko nodded. “Katara?”

“Yeah?” She turned to look at him, happy that they were far enough from the loud crackling of the fireworks to hear what he was saying to her.

“About tonight, um,” He cleared his throat and kept his eyes up at the sky. “Thank you.”

Katara smiled. The way his sentence awkwardly left his mouth reminded the waterbender of when they were younger and how awkward he was in the times he wasn't brooding when he first joined the group. It made her smile to herself at the euphoric nostalgia. “No problem. I hope you think our little field trip was successful because I think it was.”

“I do too,” he said in response. She turned her attention back to the display in the sky. He took a deep breath. “I went to talk to Azula today.”

Katara snapped her attention back to him, His face was facing hers now. “Oh? Was that why you were-”

“Yeah.” 

Katara sat up from the grass and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You know that whatever she said to make you feel the way you did isn’t true, right?”

Zuko sat up too but still had his focus upon the bright colors. “I know. Azula always lies.”

Katara nodded and then with a laugh said, “Besides, what would she know, It’s not like she’s out here to see what all you’ve accomplished.”

Zuko didn't laugh but he gave a quick half-smile. They were quiet for a little bit and she went back to watching the sky.

Once again, the firebender broke the silence. “I think there’s still hope for her. Maybe she can change. Is that– does that sound crazy?”

“You know her better than anyone else,” Katara said in response. Her hand was still on his shoulder.

Zuko gave a slow nod. “I want to help her, but I don’t know how.” He had a bit of stress and frustration showing in his tone.

Katara thought for a minute. “How about that one mind healer you told me about? He’ll help, right?”

Zuko nodded. “I think so.”

“Good,” Katara said. She felt happy that his feelings and thoughts were being worked out. He turned to finally face her suddenly and she sat up a little straighter, prepared to hear what else he had to say that’s on his mind.

Instead, she was met with him pointing to the sky as he said, “look.”

She followed his instructions and looked up at the night sky and saw how it was lit up with colors that weren't only the reds and oranges displayed before, but now an array of red, yellow, green, and blue. 

“This one is my favorite,” Zuko said.

“Mine too.”

Sneaking back through the city to get back into the palace proved to be a little more difficult than sneaking to the festival was. The two of them must have lost a bit of their stealth and capability to sneak around in the dark when all of the street lanterns burned out and all the lights from citizens’ houses were off due to everyone now asleep. The only light to provide guidance was the slight light of the waning crescent moon and light from the fire in Zuko’s palm. This made it harder to see where they were going. That’s how Zuko ended rounding the corner of a building and loudly crashed in a merchant’s cart from tripping. 

“Are you okay?” Katara whispered, not wanting her loud speaking voice to wake anyone up. It was a lost cause, though. The crash from the cart was loud enough to wake up anyone in the small house they were in front of. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He whispered back and relit the flame in his left palm. There was humiliation in his voice. More than likely due to the fact the oh-so-masterful Fire Lord who is said to beat any opponent had clumsily stumbled over some poor merchant’s cart and was now covered in green leaves.

His mask was broken from the stumble and crash and there was a cut on his cheek. It was small, but still big enough to be noticed by anyone tomorrow at the palace and wonder where he got it from, and unfortunately, probably assume the worst. The waterbender helped him back up onto his feet. “Let me heal your cheek for you.”

Then they saw a light turn on inside the house and a door open. “Do it quickly, we need to get out of here.” 

Katara nodded and then hurriedly looked around.  _ ‘Oh Agni, there isn’t any water.’ _

Katara felt stress run over her as she heard footsteps get louder and louder, signaling someone was coming closer and closer, and with Zuko’s mask broken they would come across the Fire Lord with an injury, a broken cart, and someone else in a mask. That wouldn’t end well. 

Katara assessed other places to get water. His sweat? That’s filled with damaging bacteria that could turn the small injury into a significantly infected one. Using her own sweat might make Zuko grossed out and it would cause the same problem that his would. She could bloodbend, but that takes time and heavy concentration, neither of which she has right now and it wouldn't stitch the skin back together.

The footsteps got even louder. Were those the footsteps or her heart pounding? So, she did what her last option was and copied what she has seen polar bear dogs do to their cubs when they get injured. She went on her toes, grabbed his face closer to hers and quickly licked the cut on his right cheek and pulled away and started working on it. During the quick time it took to bend the saliva and actually heal it, she noticed the deep blush on his face and from the warmth felt in her face, she’s sure that she matched. When done, she snatched her hand away from his face and stepped back and away from him. “Sorry, it was the only-”

“It’s fine.” He interrupted. There wasn’t really time for an explanation. “Time to leave.”

They left the broken cart for the merchant to find. The unfortunate older man dressed in his sleep attire with a lantern, staying with his friend in the Fire Nation for the festival, looked at the destruction made with the broken cart and it’s contents everywhere. With a sad look on his face, he looked at the cart and whispered in agony.  _ “My cabbages!” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, I will once again need a week until I release the next chapter, but it's a pretty long one, so I hope that makes up for it! The good news is that after this week, I'm completely done with my finals! WHOOP WHOOP.
> 
> If you would like to see a reference of what the masks that they wore looked like or Zuko's room, they are on the Pinterest board I made for this fic. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Go check out my Tumblr and leave an ask if you have any questions about the fic or anything like that. I also post sneak peeks for future chapters and more! https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> I love reading your comments and the asks I get on Tumblr! It really inspires me to work harder on this fic for you guys. Y'all are the best!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished finals, which means I'll be able to write fanfic more often until my classes start up again!!!  
> -  
> Also, I dedicate this chapter to the very lovely people in the Zutara Fanfic Writers group chat on Tumblr for keeping me inspired. <3

This meeting would be the death of Zuko. Imagine that: the Fire Lord died out of literal boredom. After numerous assassination attempts, Fire Lord Zuko finally bit the dust from his advisor going on and on about something that really doesn't matter. You would think that Zuko would be used to boring meetings by now, but with all the other meetings that he had that morning, he felt done with them for the day. It didn’t help that his only free time for the day was taken up by watching and then talking about something dumb and uncomfortable.

_The Fire Lord let out a deep sigh, happy that he was done with his eighth meeting for the day, and even happier that he had five minutes to himself until the next one. He was enjoying his downtime when he stumbled across his friend from the Southern Water Tribe huffing and then step on the foot of the ambassador from the Northern Water Tribe._

_Katara quickly fleeted from the hallway without even noticing his presence while Haruk rubbed his foot and for some reason, chuckled to himself. He turned to the Fire Lord and put his large, and probably dirty, hand on the pointed shoulder of Zuko’s robes like they were best friends, opened his mouth and said, “Women, am I right?”_

_“What did you say to her?” Zuko asked with a stoic expression on his face._

_“I just told her that I know she’s playing hard to get and that it’s working.”_

From that small conversation, Zuko felt something that was quite unpleasant in his stomach. It spread to what felt a little like anger with heat rising slightly in his face and a little paranoia. Zuko had plenty of experience with the array of feelings his brain pushed out. Zuko blamed these feelings on that fact he just didn't like the way Haruk was talking to Katara. Not because he was hitting on her per se, but because what Haruk was saying was making her, his close friend, uncomfortable. He bargained with himself that he would feel the same way if someone acted that way towards Toph. _‘Yeah, sure. That makes sense. I’ll stick with that,’_ He thought

“Fire Lord, any update on the hospital location?” Councilman Iren asked.

“Yes, in Fire Fountain City.” He answered, pulling his thoughts away from the woman he attended a festival with a couple of nights prior.

“I see.” The councilman nodded while he and Advisor Zahr glanced at each other.

“Is that all for this meeting?” Zuko asked and everyone nodded and then shuffled out.

In Zuko’s office after the meeting, there was a knock on his door. “Come in,” Zuko called out, not wanting to get up from the documents he needed to sign to get the door.

The door creaked open and in came Mr. Aiguo, the lead of psychology at the new hospital being created. “Hello, Fire Lord Zuko.” The practitioner said with his nasally voice and gave a bow. He appeared to be in his mid-forties with a receding hairline. He was shorter and had brown eyes so dark that they were practically black.

“Hello. Is this about what I asked you earlier?” Zuko set his documents down. 

“No, although I do feel honored that you asked me to treat your sister.” The man said with a kind smile. “I noticed that you’ve been a little tense lately and wanted to once again offer my services to you, Fire Lord.” He was charismatic, probably taught to be so since he grew up in a wealthy family.

This was the second time that the man offered therapy to Zuko, “Thank you, but I promise that I’m fine, besides, my schedule is already far too full to have any time for that anyway.” Zuko answered in the same words that he did last time.

“Alright, let me know if you change your mind.” 

“I will,” Zuko promised, even though it would be unlikely. The firebender still had trouble communicating all of his feelings to his uncle, it would be impossible to do to a stranger and too risky as the leader of a country.

The man bowed and took his leave.

“Katara!” 

“Suki!” The two women with bright smiles on their faces wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug in the doorway of Katara’s room.

“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Katara asked, now stepping out of the embrace to actually talk to her soon to be sister in law. She stepped out of the way so that Suki could come into her bedroom. 

Suki sat down on the couch, “I had some things I needed to do here before I step down from being the leader of the Kyoshi warriors. I wrote you a letter but it must not have come yet.”

Katara sat down next to her. “What all things?”

Suki looked up, trying to recall her to-do list. “Hmmm, let’s see… Offer the Kyoshi Warriors to Zuko once again, check in with the Kyoshi Ambassador, go shopping for a new swimsuit, and spend time with you and Toph, of course.”

“How long are you staying?” Katara knew that it wouldn’t be long considering she had a wedding to go back and finish planning. She was sure that planning a wedding had Suki stressing out a little bit, but she was doing a great job of keeping up her collected facade. 

“Only a couple of days, but Ty Lee came with me to help me get everything done.” 

“Oh really, where is she now?” Katara moved to the edge of her seat. She missed Ty Lee. The two had spent time together whenever she would visit Kyoshi Island with Sokka.

“Probably finishing unpacking in our room and then going to catch up with Mai and Zuko. I wonder when those two are going to get back together.”

“Actually, I think that they’ve both moved on, she’s only here to help with finances for the hospital we’re creating,” Katara responded a little awkwardly.

“Oh,” Suki said, “That’s probably for the best, then.” She examined Katara and then shook her head. “Come on, I promised Reyan that I’d go have tea with her when I came to visit. You should join us, and tell me all about how the hospital is going so far on the way there.”

The Kyoshi Ambassador, Reyan, was a tall and intimidating woman. It was no surprise to learn that she was once the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors herself. She had her deep brown hair in a long ponytail at the nape of her neck. She had faint wrinkles around her eyes and was adorned in traditional Kyoshi Island dark blue, but often wore red whenever Katara saw her. Her movements were tough but showed elegance. Katara had spoken to her a few times in between ambassador meetings and such, but this was the first time visiting the house that the woman lived in with her wife about a mile outside of the Fire Nation capital.

Ty Lee met up with them and she came along as well. They were drinking lavender tea while seated around the circular wooden table, with Reyan’s wife, Aika, who grew up in the Fire Nation. After Ty Lee and Suki gave Reyan updates about how the current Kyoshi warriors were doing, they spent time all together discussing Reyan’s favorite topic which was the political climate in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. Near the end of their time together, Reyan had complimented Katara by saying the hospital was a brilliant idea and would certainly be an asset to the people of the Fire Nation. It meant a lot coming from her because Reyan wasn't really one to flatter without meaning and she seemed to know more about Fire Nation politics and needs than anyone Katara had ever talked to besides Zuko and Iroh.

Walking back to the palace with Ty Lee and Suki with the hot sun risen over them was almost unbearable for Katara. “How are the two of you holding up so well? I’ve been here for almost three weeks and I still can’t stand this heat.” Katara said while her sweat was dripping down her face. 

“I grew up here,” Ty Lee cheerfully pointed out the obvious. “But the weather change of moving to Kyoshi Island was an adjustment.”

“Ty Lee helped me pack so that I wouldn’t be too hot. Mostly she cut a lot of clothes to be more lightweight and less covering and hot.”

“I could do that for you too if you’d like!” Ty Lee enthusiastically offered Katara. 

Katara took a second to think over the proposition. It wasn’t like any of the clothes that she brought to the Fire Nation with her were too special that they couldn’t be cut and adjusted to be more appropriate for the weather. Plus, this way she could wear clothing for the Fire Nation’s climate that’s still the same shades of blue that’s representational of the Water Tribes. This would be especially beneficial since she was now working outside a lot more on construction for the hospital. “Thanks, Ty Lee. That would be great.”

The girl dressed in pink beamed and Katara hoped that she wasn’t making a mistake.

The long oval mahogany table was seated with most of those who were currently residing in the palace. The dinner plate before the Fire Lord had one of his all-time favorite foods on it, but he paid it no mind. Despite the roasted komodo chicken’s delicious aroma, as his attention was caught somewhere else. Or rather, by someone else.

Across from him and a little to the left sat a certain young waterbender. Her hair was completely down, except for the two little blue beads that permanently reside at the front, which made Zuko more aware of just how long it had gotten. Although he could only see her upper body due to her sitting at the table, he could see that she seemed to be dressed differently than normal. Her attire was still blue as usual, but the sleeves were missing from the top, fur or any other type of warm trim was lacking and instead replaced with cotton. The armbands she usually wore with shorter sleeves were shorter and the neckline was a V that reached about two inches or so below her collar bones that had the bead of her mother’s necklace resting between them. It showed a little bit of cleavage, but Zuko didn’t focus on that because he was trying really hard not to think about the fact that his friend had breasts.

Katara must have the same interest in certain kinds of Fire Nation cuisines as himself because she picked up a piece of roasted duck with her fingers and when she put it in her mouth, her eyelids fluttered closed. Her expression made Zuko amused and the little smile she made after swallowing was appealing. Something inside of him beamed with pride that she enjoyed his favorite dish.

Two of the women sitting close to both the Fire Lord and the Waterbending Master followed his subtle line of sight, smirked, and looked at each other. The first one then cleared her throat and said, “Thanks again, Fire Lord Zuko for inviting us to stay in the palace during our visit here.” 

“What? Oh, uh, no problem, Suki.” Zuko finally picked up his chopsticks to continue eating. 

“It’s so great that both Toph and Katara are here too. It's been so long since I last saw them before today, especially Katara. I rarely ever had time to visit the Southern Water Tribe with the tough training regime. She looks so much older!” Ty Lee said this with an expression he didn’t understand and chose to ignore.

“Yeah,” Zuko responded simply. He glanced back at Katara who was listening and occasionally chiming into the conversation between the Foggy Swamp Tribe Ambassador and Toph. Suki said something to add to the conversation that got a laugh from the woman and the others. Zuko continued his glance around the table and noticed Haruk and some of the other male ambassadors all staring at something intently. He was displeased when he spotted that their line of sight was Katara’s chest. He could feel his face heat up out of vexation, but a new heat replaced it out of guilt and embarrassment, realizing he was also staring at his friend earlier, sure, not _there_ , but still.

Zuko didn’t notice when Toph leaned into Suki to whisper. “He was staring at her, right?”

“Yeah. How could you tell?” Suki quietly responded.

“Sparky’s heart was beating pretty rapidly.” Suki giggled and Toph continued, “can someone please diffuse the sexual tension in here?”

“Noooooo!” Ty Lee whined. “I think it’s sweet!” Suki went beyond giggling and started laughing.

Katara seemed oblivious to everything her friends and soon to be sister in law were talking about and was busy listening to Thala tell stories of living in a swamp.

“I’m going to help you.” He was seated in her cage on the chair facing her bed, where she sat.

She scoffed and her angry eyes looked into his, “I don’t want your help.”

He observed her movements. She was ripping up a pillow while sneering at him. “I think you do, and more importantly, I think that you need it.” The man who first spoke grinned with his eyebrows brought together. The calculation that she showed from behind her eyes could only be matched by his own.

Katara sat in the strange Fire Nation pub alone, waiting for her two accomplices to show up, slowly sipping on water. She decided to show up a little early since the hospital construction for the day finished up before planned and she didn’t have anything else to do that evening. There were plenty of people there, so she had chosen an empty table closest to the door. Her skin felt a little prickly and warm, but she ignored it.

When Haruk first approached Katara about joining him for dinner and a drink at the nearby pub, the Southern Water Tribe woman gave him a firm ‘no.’ Katara really wasn’t interested in Haruk as anything more than a fellow ambassador. Not even as a friend. Although she was flattered by his interest in her and his aggressively forward flirting, her feelings weren’t reciprocated for the man who was more likely interested in her titles as the ‘Avatar’s waterbending teacher’ and ‘daughter of Hakoda: Chief of the Southern Water tribe’ than he was in her.

_“Wait,” Haruk stopped her from walking away, “It’s not for anything romantic, I was thinking we could talk about unity between the Water Tribes.”_

_Katara looked at him suspiciously._

_“I’m inviting the Foggy Swamp Tribe ambassador too.” Haruk quickly added._

_“Oh, then yeah. I’ll be there.” Katara felt embarrassed for assuming that Haruk was asking her on a date. Of course, he wasn’t, he was just doing his job as the ambassador of the Northern Water Tribe. Besides, with Thala there, it shouldn’t be awkward at all._

_Haruk had a self-satisfied smile on his lips and responded with, “Great, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”_

In front of Katara sitting on the bar stools were two men seeming to be at the start of an evening that involved getting heavily intoxicated. They were tasting their drinks in between talking to each other with crude language.

“The economy is pretty fucked.” The first man said.

“I’ll drink to that,” responded the second one.

“You’ll drink to anything.”

“I’ll drink to that too.”

Even though Katara disagreed with what they were saying, (she thought that Zuko was doing a great job with the economy, but they seemed harmless so she didn't bother to correct them), she still found them entertaining. They reminded her of the time that Toph visited the South Pole and she and Sokka got drunk, despite Katara protesting since Toph was only 14 years old at the time. Katara, as the responsible friend, stayed sober but couldn’t help but still giggle along at the stupid things they were saying until they the two that were intoxicated crashed into a deep sleep.

Haruk entered the place and immediately spotted her, he smiled and loudly exclaimed, “Katara, I’m glad that you could make it.”

The second man from the bar dropped his glass bottle, causing it to shatter. When he reached to pick up the pieces, he accidentally created a cut on his hand. “Ow.”

Katara rushed over to him, water from her drinking cup glowing in her hand. “Here, let me heal that for you.” 

He looked at her a second with his eyebrows drawn together and then shrugged. “Alright. Thanks.”

Katara smiled and healed his hand, taking no time at all to mend the slight wound. She thought about the last time that she healed a cut and blushed before quickly waving that thought away. It was Zuko’s. On his face. She healed it. _With her tongue._ “You’ve probably heard already, but a hospital is opening up in Fire Fountain city, I’m working there so if this hand gives you any problems, come see me there.” 

The man slowly nodded. His friend and him glanced at each other. Katara gave them both another smile before sitting down at the table she previously was with Haruk.

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d be so good around blood.”

Katara raised an eyebrow and felt offended by Haruk’s surprise and slightly patronizing comment. “You know, I’d have a terrible time as a woman If I fainted at the sight of blood. Also, there was a war and I’m a master waterbending healer.” 

“Right,” Haruk responded with a shrug. ”So tell me all about what it was like to grow up down in the southern tribe.”

“I’ll tell you when Thala shows up so we can start the meeting,” Katara responded politely in a kind tone, but still pointedly.

“Oh, um, I never really got around to asking her to join us,” Haruk said sheepishly. “I kinda wanted to have this time to talk with you.”

Katara raised one brow. “This feels like you tricked me.”

“I didn’t trick you. Calm down.” Haruk leaned closer to her and raised his hands up slightly.

“I _was_ calm.”

“No, you weren't.”

“I was. You're just the type of guy where I could be speaking in a monotone and you would still tell me to calm down if I tried to stand up for myself at something you said, or in this case, something dumb that you did.” Katara sighed and got up, “I already told you that I’m not interested, Haruk.”

He grabbed her arm and said, “You say that but I think your body is telling me something different, or at least it will if you let me make it.” He looked at her up and down, Katara supposed he was trying to be seductive, but she felt grossed out. She bent the liquid from the pitcher held by a waiter walking by and splashed it into his face. She stormed out, the sound of him sputtering and insulting her not even bothering her one bit.

After drying off, Haruk wasted no time and ordered a drink with a high alcohol quantity. He chose to sit right at the bar. The only two people who were at the bar with him were the guy who cut his hand earlier and another guy sitting right next to him. Those two men looked at each other and then slid closer to Haruk. “Hey, buddy.” The first one said. 

“Hey,” Haruk responded.

“Bitches, man.” The second man said.

“I’ll drink to that.” Haruk responded.

The first guy smiled and laughed. “I like this kid.” He turned to the bartender, “another round for my guy here.”

“And keep them coming!” The second man added and then leaned into Haruk. “So, tell us about that girl.”

Haruk guzzled down the new drink that the bartender brought him and wiped his mouth. “Katara? I dunno what to say,” He could feel himself getting tipsy from the second shot, and it didn't help that he had something to drink before he even arrived at the pub.

It hurt a lot. The heated skin that adapted a bright red hue felt incredibly sensitive and the muscles underneath did as well. Sometimes the fabric from her clothing that she wore would shift and hit one of the injured spots and it would sting, but at least then it would distract her from her headache and nausea. Katara didn't even know that it was possible for someone with her skin tone to get sunburnt, but anything must be possible underneath the Fire Nation sun. Especially after being underneath it all day, helping construct the building that the hospital will reside in. She was burnt on every place of her body that her clothes weren't covering, which thanks to Ty Lee and the strong heat of the Fire Nation, was a lot. She started recognizing her skin feeling too warm when she was sitting waiting for Haruk at the pub earlier, but she had ignored it.

Laying on her back on the couch in the Fire Lord’s office, waiting for Zuko to meet with her, she felt the pain coming from the pressure on her back. Unfortunately, laying on her front wouldn't help with her nausea and laying down was helping to relieve the headache, so sitting up wasn’t the most appealing option. A servant would be arriving soon with some salve that she could put on it. She tried to heal her burn with her bending, but raising her arms higher than three inches was met with searing pain.

There was a knock on the door. With a pained sigh, Katara got up and answered it. With a simple ‘thank you’, Katara got the salve from the servant, closed the door, and sat back down on the cool leather couch. She opened the small canister and produced a scoop of salve on her finger. She went to put it onto her arm, but she ran into the same problem that she was facing earlier: not being able to lift her arm up high enough. She stretched to rub it on her leg where the opening from the slit in her skirt was, but that hurt too. So, she put the salve back into the jar and gave up, waiting for Zuko to arrive so that he could help her. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long.

Zuko walked right into his office and was greeted with a very red waterbender sitting on the couch. “You look like a lobster fish.”

“Hahaha, very funny.” Katara laughed sarcastically. “I know this was going to be a really quick meeting, but could you help me put salve on my sunburn, I’m unable to raise my arms.”

“Um. Yeah, sure.” He sat beside her on the couch with her back facing him. Her hair was already up in a bun so he was able to start applying the salve on the visible parts of her back and shoulders. As soon as the salve on his hand hit her skin, she let out a sigh. His hands paused for a moment but then continued. 

He cleared his throat, “So, what are your updates about the construction?”

“It’s going really well.” His hands were hot, but with the salve, they felt more than nice on her burnt skin. “The construction workers that Iroh helped hire are really nice and efficient.” 

His hands moved from her shoulders to her arms and then back up to her neck. “That's good.” He responded, trying his best to disguise that he was beginning to feel aroused. Hopefully, he was succeeding. 

“Yeah, and the earthbending ambassadors are having a fun time bending certain parts of the building. It will be interesting to have a building made so much of rock here in the Fire Nation.”

“Is it on schedule to finish at the correct time?” He grabbed more salve on the container into his hands and got back to work. 

Katara shivered. His voice already has a deep and husky tone to it, but when he spoke like that, it became even more sensual. “Probably even before that. We should be done in two weeks.” 

His hands were now at the skin of her lower back and his finger passed against her spine. “Great. Um, Katara?”

She twisted her head slightly to her left to look at him. “Yeah?”

“I finished with your back, do you want me to-?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

He nodded. “Here, lay down.” He got off the couch to get more salve and she did as he said. He looked at her and swallowed. “I’m gonna start with your leg, okay?”

“Okay.” His hands started at her ankle and worked their way to her knee where the slit in her skirt ended and back down and up again. She had to admit to herself that it felt good. She felt embarrassed that she didn’t shave her legs like how Suki taught her, but he didn't seem to mind at all. His hands on her leg felt more intimate than when they were on her back, but she didn’t feel awkward about it.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to feel awkward about treating her sunburn either, despite being the Fire Lord. He asked if there was a response from the Southern Water Tribe about people coming to work and study in the Fire Nation as healers.

“Uh-huh. Gran Gran told me that people will be arriving about a week before the hospital opens.” His hands moved up to her stomach and she barely stifled a small gasp. He looked up at her and she looked away. 

“U-Um, how was your day?” Katara asked Zuko to distract herself.

“It was fine, I had a long meeting with some Earth Kingdom dignitaries today.”

“Oh yeah? What about?” She was looking up at the ceiling. 

“Trading, finances, them wanting me to get married to one of their nieces or something which I continuously had to refuse. But I did have some peaceful time to practice my bending this morning.”

She tilted her head up to look at him. “Hey, we should train together sometime when we have a chance. We could spar like old times, but this time I’ll have all my clothes on.” She meant to say it like a joke. She only realized what it sounded like after it left her mouth. 

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, that’d be fun.”

“That sucks about the noblemen wanting to sell you off to their nieces.”

Zuko shrugged, “better than my own council trying to do so.” He finished rubbing the salve on her stomach. She sat up, thinking that he was done, but he grabbed the salve container and got another two-finger scoop. He sat down next to her again and rubbed the salve on her collar bones and front of her neck. They were in a comfortable silence and had strong eye contact. 

Oh Agni, Katara was _so turned on_.

Oh Agni, Zuko was _so turned on._

His own face was red, though not as much as Katara’s. He brought hands higher to rub salve on her burnt face. She made another little noise, her third of the night, and it sent blood straight to Zuko’s crotch. 

He got up quickly and turned away from her as fast as he could. 

“Everything okay?” Katara asked, also standing up.

He screwed the salve container cap back on and handed it back to her. “Yes, of course. I just realized how late it was.”

“Oh, yeah. Totally. For sure.” Katara responded. “Well, thanks for helping me with my burn, I’ll see you later.”

“No problem. Goodnight.” He gave her a small bow and turned back around quickly to face away from her.

She closed the door and Zuko let out a deep sigh and fell onto the couch, face in hands, willing his erection away He would wait to deal with that until he was back in his room alone. Honestly, he was proud of himself that he didn't get a hard-on until the end there. With deep breaths, he was finally in the position that he could walk through the hallways back to his private chambers without anyone noticing. 

As soon as he entered the room, he laid down over the covers and stared at the top panel of his bed. He didn’t even bother to take his shoes off. Zuko took some time to reflect on what had happened, what had _been_ happening. 

Zuko was always taught to have control. Control of his bending, mind, and eventually control of his destiny by his uncle. Control of power by his father, before his uncle was able to reteach him. And, eventually, he learned to control his temper and emotions. Around Katara, Zuko felt like he was losing control. 

He never felt like that with Mai. With Mai, there was very little sexual tension, when they had sex, it was pretty brief and impersonal. He still enjoyed himself, but it was different from what he expected. He was always too busy as the new Fire Lord to even spend too much time alone with her, anyways. Not that Zuko really worked hard so that he could have time with her, honestly. If Zuko paid attention, he would have noticed that his relationship with Mai was destined for downhill early on. 

Being around Katara was different than being around Mai or Toph or Iroh or anyone else. He had viewed her as powerful since she had first battled him at the spirit oasis. She showed him compassion at the catacombs, which he really didn't deserve. His respect for her grew after he joined the group and then even more after she let Yon Rha walk free. He remembered being so relieved and grateful when she forgave him. He also spent that time at the Western Air Temple and on Ember Island fighting off the feelings that came with being a hormonal teenager and having a very attractive girl around him.

After the war, he would consistently receive letters from her even if he didn’t ever really have time to respond. He was excited when he learned that she would be moving to the Fire Nation to be an ambassador. It was nice having her and Toph around him. When she came up with the idea of creating a hospital and health care plan, he was reminded of how smart and caring she was. He looked forward to each of their meetings and rearranged other stuff in his schedule so that he would never have to cancel any of their arrangements. There was always a shred of attraction there and he started to think about her more throughout the day and of what she was doing and when making a decision he wondered what she would think.

The realization hit Zuko and he groaned. “Agni, I really like her, don’t I?” He accidentally said it out loud and sat up to make sure that there weren’t any servants around. When he saw that he was alone, he laid back down.

Did he liking a girl that was as nurturing as her mean he had mommy issues? He probably did, but he didn’t want those to be connected with his feelings for Katara. Honestly, he knew about his feelings for her since the night that they went to the Fire Day Festival together, but this was the first time that he ever admitted his romantic feelings for his waterbending friend out loud, even if it was alone to himself in his room with nobody else around. He wondered if she felt similarly about him and what he should do. Could he act on those feelings, would he be _allowed_ to as the Fire Lord? What would his people say? What would his council say?

Now angry and frustrated, Zuko stood up from where he was laying and paced around the main space of his room to his bathroom to prepare for going to bed. 

How _dare_ anyone think that Katara wouldn't be good enough for him to court. She was a master water bender and healer, ambassador and southern water tribe representative, daughter of Chief Hakoda, water bending teacher to the Avatar, and saved his life while beating Azula in the Agni Kai. Besides, if they did date, it’s not like anyone would need to know unless she became pretty likely to be the next Fire Lady.

He brushed his teeth and let his hair down and went to his closet to change into his sleepwear. 

Katara _would_ make a great Fire Lady, though. She cares a lot for people, has an admirably strong moral conscience, always helps those in need, and has great communication and leadership skills. Most of which, he felt as though he was lacking in himself. But, he was getting way ahead of himself. He didn’t know what her feelings were and he needed to get to sleep soon if he wanted to be on top alert for working through all the numbers of his nation’s financial paperwork the next day.

Sitting back onto his bed and laid down on his back, he replaced his thoughts of the future with Katara, with thoughts of past moments with Katara. One moment from less than a candle mark ago in particular. His hands moved on their own accord as Zuko's mind recounted the feeling of Katara’s smooth skin and soft flesh. Even though he got himself to climax before finally taking a rest, Zuko still had a very erotic dream about her as he slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN FACT: Katara's sunburn is inspired by last April when I got a sunburn so terrible that I was unable to move my arm or legs without crying and my roommates at the time literally had to help me get dressed. It was terrible. Ahhhh, what memories.
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board, if you want to see some of the changes Ty Lee made to Katara's clothing, you can see them under the Katara section. Link here: https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr, I post updates and teasers and love answering you guys' asks. Link here: https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> I think that weekly updates have been working about the best for me time-wise and to make sure everyone isn't bored by getting the story all at once, but I could be wrong; Let me know what you think! Until then, the next update will be next Tuesday (4/21).


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started class again yesterday RIP ME.

“I can’t believe that- bend your knees more, girl- bastard!” 

Katara followed the swamp woman’s command, her sunburn had healed, so moving around was much easier. “I know!” They were in the midst of one of Thala’s plantbending lessons and Katara was filling her in on her and Haruk’s  _ date. _ They were near the fountain where they had their first session in the practices of Foggy Swamp style, Northern style, and what little Katara knew of traditional Southern-style bending. Katara knew it wasn’t  _ that _ long ago. But, it sure felt like it was with everything that was going on.

“Okay, now try and concentrate on moving the branches on the tree through the water that’s inside them.” Katara did as she was told. Thala gave an approving nod and continued with the conversation as Katara continued to work with each branch. “I remember when that boy found out that Reyan was a lesbian an’ all the terribly insultin’ questions he was asking her. I never elbowed someone so hard in my life.”

Katara was now experimenting on her own with the water and the tree by taking the water from the fountain and seeing if she could get the roots of the tree to absorb it quickly when she put it into the soil.

“He finally shut up when that one hospital mind guy approached us offering some therapy and stuff and convinced Haruk to join him.”

“Huh. I never really pictured Haruk as the type to talk about his feelings.” Katara chimed in.

“Me neither.” Thala shrugged. She joined the other in bending and playing with the water throughout the tree. “Speakin’ on feelins’, what’s been havin’ you all tangled up lately, Sis? Ya seem to be dealin’ with all sorts of emotions.”

Katara stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Thala. “Is it that obvious?”

Thala gave the woman in blue a sympathetic look. “Your movements have been pretty stiff since this mornin’ at breakfast. Does it have to do with hospital stuff?”

Katara remembers that. It was when Zuko walked into the dining hall and all the memories of the night before rushed into her brain and she began feeling a little bit embarrassed and  _ frustrated.  _ But, Katara didn’t feel like going over all of that with Thala. Spirits knew that the woman didn’t need more ammunition to tease Katara about Zuko with. Instead, she decided to share what else has been bothering her. “Aang hasn’t written to me in a long time and maybe I’m looking too much into it, but-“

“You’re missin’ him?” Thala offered.

“That’s not it, at least not like that.” At first, Katara thought maybe she did something wrong and then she summed it up to him still feeling awkward about their break up, even though it happened a while ago. But when she mentioned this to Toph, the younger girl mentioned how she wasn’t receiving any mail from the Avatar either. “I know he is busy doing important stuff, but we all are. Even Zuko puts time aside to visit with Toph and me, and with Suki and Ty Lee who are visiting, and I’m sure that he writes Sokka and Aang, and he’s busy running an entire nation that’s making reparations after the war.”

“Speakin’ of the Fire Lord,” Thala now had her hands on her hips and a sly smile on her face. “That’s a good way of relievin’ all that frustration that ya’ve been feelin’.”

Katara blushed and thought,  _ ‘oh Agni, if only she knew.’ _

“Don’t even gotta be romantic. Ya could just pounce on him next full moon like a cat gator in heat.”

Katara splashed water on her fellow ambassador, “let’s spar.”

Thala grinned to her fullest. “You’re on.”

The two women got into position: Thala putting her weight primarily on her back leg with her arms above her head, hands pointing forward, and Katara in a lunge, arms at shoulder height facing her opponent, one palm up, and one palm down.

Thala made the first move. Keeping her back straight, she did a step sequence then pulled her arms down in front of her, sending a large water whip pulled from the fountain Katara’s way. Katara stepped out of the way, dodging the water, took control of it. She pivoted and brought it around with her, shooting it right back. Thala pulled more water from the fountain and both of her arms had long tentacles of water. She whipped them so that they would meet with Katara at the center.

Thala smiled and clearly recognized that move. It was a Foggy Swamp Tribe bending move that she previously taught Katara. She might as well return the favor and use one of Katara’s own moves against her and created a large octopus form. Katara, who seemed to be getting more frustrated, blocked by creating an ice shield. But, Thala took the win when she bent one of the lower tree branches to knock Katara down from behind.

Both were heavily panting. Thala sauntered up to Katara who was still on her hands and knees and leaned down. “Ya better take a bite outta that Fire Lord. If ya don’t, I will.”

“Fire Lord, thank you for meeting with me today.” The man greeted.

“Of course, Doctor Aiguo. Take a seat.” The Fire Lord gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. Zuko was glad to be distracted from his thoughts.

The man followed the suggestion and sat down. “Your majesty, if you don’t mind me stating my observation; I find it interesting that you often choose to meet here in your office or in a meeting room, rather than in the throne room.”

Zuko gave a curt nod. His meeting place location pattern was intentional. If he could avoid sitting on the throne in that room, looking down on people condescendingly like his father did when he was in power, he would. “Yes, I prefer meeting and discussing with a conversation on equal grounds.”

The doctor nodded. “Fire Lord, do you know why I requested to meet with you today?”

“No, I do not. Enlighten me?” Zuko responded.

“It’s about your sister, Princess Azula.” At his words, Zuko visibly shifted in his seat. The other man ignored it and continued, “At your request, I’ve been meeting with Princess Azula twice a week since I started staying at the palace to help aid her healing and recovery for her mental state.”

The Fire Lord nodded, “how has that been going? Has there been much progress?”

Aiguo nodded. “It’s been going well, I have found a proper diagnosis.”

“Really? What is it?”

“At first I thought she might be sociopathic like Ozai appeared to be, but after hearing about all of your sister’s symptoms including, but not limited to hallucinations and paranoia, I believe that your sister is suffering from schizophrenic-narcissism.”

Zuko didn’t know everything that meant, but he had an idea. He nodded. “How else has the therapy been going?”

“Unfortunately there has been next to no notable progress.” He leaned forward in his chair, hands still crossed together in his lap, “The healing process needs to be continued as much as possible for it to be effective. I feel it would be best for me to be visiting Princess Azula more often.”

The Firebender nodded. Truth be told, the psychiatric meetings with Azula had slipped his mind this past couple of days while it was preoccupied with lawmaking, hospital building, and a certain waterbender. It made him feel guilty that his sister’s mental healing and stability wasn’t a priority. He was happy that later that afternoon he’d be doing an activity that will be fun and freeing of the hard work that he’s been busy doing. “How often were you thinking would help with efficiency?”

The older man looked up and appeared to be contemplating a bit. “Well, Fire Lord Zuko, I think that it would be best that instead of having a set schedule, I meet with her as I have before, but then also have a follow-up session for whenever I feel that it is needed and then I will start implementing hypnotherapy.”

Zuko nodded. If it would help his younger sister, and it is still reported when he visits with her and for how long, then there shouldn’t be a problem. “I will inform the guards tonight that they are to let you meet with Princess Azula whenever you find it necessary.” 

“Thank you,” the other man responded. “But Fire Lord, would it be possible, if you’re not busy with another important meeting, for you to inform the guards of the changes right now? I’d like to continue the process as soon as possible and I’m lucky to have no other plans today.”

Zuko nodded. “I will.”

Aiguo stood up with a smile on his face, “Thank you, Fire Lord. This will definitely help restore her to her proper mentality.”

The two men headed down to the private dungeon to get it all sorted out.

Not long later, a young waterbending master who was walking back to her room after finishing up having brunch with her soon-to-be-sister-in-law. She noticed the open door to the Fire Lord’s office and no one was inside. Katara had been in that office many times, but she never had free time to explore it before. The timing lined up perfectly because Zuko seemed to be busy doing something else at the moment.

Katara couldn’t stop her curiosity from getting the best of her. The first thing Katara found to catch her eye when she walked in was the deep red dyed hippo cow leather couch located in the front waiting space of the office. Katara blushed as her mind played out what had recently taken place betweèn her and Zuko there. Katara decided to blame the fact she was ovulating for all the unshareable images and scenes her mind created involving her and the Fire Lord on that couch.

She blushed and walked further into the room and to the left wall where there was a large shelf. Katara picked up one of the scrolls placed there. Opening it up, it said ‘The Reign of Sozin’. She closed the scroll and put it back. The next one she picked up read ‘The First Agni Kai’. She put it back, maybe it would be a fun light read for another time. But right now there was a little more exploring to do.

The final stop was the Fire Lord’s desk. She peeked at the door and listened carefully. With no signs of anyone approaching, Katara sat in the Fire Lord’s desk chair. It was comfortable and Katara admired the way it swiveled and twisted. Being on this side of the desk, facing away from the large window, she could now see what was in the frames on his desk. The first frame contained a painting of Iroh. Katara recognized it as the same one that Zuko carried around when teaching Aang Firebending and traveling around with the group. Speaking of Aang and the group, that’s who the next painting was of _.  _ It looked like the one that was created right after Zuko’s coronation. They all looked younger.

There were a couple of other pictures: one of Azula when she was little, another of Iroh with Zuko, and one that Katara didn’t recognize. She scooted closer in the chair and picked the small framed painting up. It was of a woman and with closer inspection, she connected the dots and realized who it was.

“That one is of my mother when she lived here as the Fire Princess.” A voice came from the door frame.

Katara startled and immediately stood from the chair. She watched and stood still as Zuko walked closer to her. She felt embarrassed at being caught in his office. At his desk.  _ Sitting in the chair of the Fire Lord.  _ “I-I realized.” She hated herself for stuttering, and judging by the way her face felt, she was probably blushing too. “She was very pretty.”

Katara was worried that Zuko was going to reprimand her for looking around his office, but instead, he asked: “You’re not busy right now, are you?” His voice sounded a little nervous.

She shook her head. “No, I actually have no set plans for the rest of the day.”

He gave her a charming half-smile. “Want to join me for afternoon tea somewhere?”

Katara smiled back at him, still blushing from being caught touching the pictures on his desk. “Sure.”

“Okay,” he stated, “let’s go. I have a lot to explain on the way there.”

They headed to Hira’a in a carriage carried by ostrich horses. The trip there took about three-thirds of a candle mark. Katara couldn’t help but be nervous the whole ride there, once Zuko explained where they were going and who she was meeting. She tried to hide her nervousness from Zuko, but honestly, he could probably tell. When the carriage stopped, they were outside of a nicely decorated humble home. Zuko knocked on the door while the guards waited in the carriage, And the woman from the painted picture framed on Zuko’s desk answered the door.

“Hi, mom.” Zuko greeted and gave the woman a hug.

Ursa reciprocated the hug and greeted her son by saying, “Zuko! Thank you so much for coming. Kiyi will be coming home from a friend's house soon. I’m sure she’ll be excited to see you.”

Katara observed the woman. She couldn’t believe she was there. (Or that Zuko never told her that he found his mom!). If Ursa looked pretty in the painting, she was absolutely stunning in person with her long ebony hair and red painted lips. Zuko had a slight resemblance to her, but from Katara’s memory, Azula could have almost been a spitting image.

“Zuko, introduce your guest,” Ursa said after they broke away from the hug.

“Oh, right.” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. “Mom, this is Katara.”

“Oh! The avatar’s waterbending teacher. Zuko has told me all about you-“

Zuko cleared his throat.

“-And all the other people you traveled with and what you did. Thank you so much for restoring peace to the nations.”

Katara smiled and shook Ursa’s hand. “I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”

Ursa grinned wider now. “Why don’t you come on in for tea? Now, it’s not nearly as good as Iroh’s, but I try.”

Katara politely sat and listened at the table while Zuko and his mother conversed. It felt surreal this was all happening. Katara received a warning and a quick story of what all happened in the ride over. It was a wild story involving Zuko’s private journey, interrogating Ozai, change of identity, theatre, and… the mother of faces? She’ll have him re-explain everything later. All she caught for sure was that the rest of the Fire Nation and world, besides the Avatar- Katara tried not to feel bitter- had no idea that the former Princess Ursa had been found, and a lot didn’t even know that she was alive.

The front door opened and in walked a little girl wearing pink. “Zuko!” She yelled gleefully and ran over to the young Fire Lord. He scooped the little girl up, “Hi Kiyi, how was your day?”

“Good!” Kiyi said, happily sitting on Zuko’s knee.

“Kiyi is my half-sister.” He explained to Katara.

“Ah.” She nodded.

Kiyi tugged on Zuko’s sleeve. “Can we go play with dolls? You promised last time.”

Zuko blushed and glanced over to Katara, trying to communicate if Katara would be okay if he left her alone with Ursa. Katara understood his message and nodded. The two headed to her dollhouse with Kiyi on Zuko’s back, leaving Ursa and Katara alone, sipping their tea.

“You probably have a lot of questions.”

Katara nodded, her mouth was still on her teacup so she was unable to verbally answer.

“Before you begin asking, let me offer you some papaya, my neighbor brought some over yesterday.”

“Oh, no thank you.” Katara hated papaya. “But thanks anyway for the offer.” She felt like she needed to be incredibly formal to the other woman for a number of reasons.

“You’re welcome. I knew not to offer Zuko any because I know he hates it.” She sat back down and crossed her legs at the ankle,

“Really?” Katara asked, smiling to herself.

“Has ever since he was little. Okay, start asking your questions and I’ll answer them the best that I can.”

Katara didn’t have many questions, it turns out. She instead had Ursa explain… well, everything from when she left the Fire Nation palace because of her compromise to Ozai, to how and when Zuko found her and the parts involving Azula, to her new life here.

“I plan on coming forth and reveal my existence to the rest of the Fire Nation, but not until I’m ready. For now, I enjoy the peace of getting to spend time with my husband and Kiyi and revisiting my old hobby of herb making.”

“You work with herbs? Like, for medicines?” Katara asked, an idea forming in her head.

“Yes. I used to do it all the time, but I couldn’t find the time for it as often when Azula was born.” Ursa took a deep breath and looked out the window of her house into the garden. “I haven’t visited her since she came to me with my previously borrowed face.”

“Why?” Katara asked. She feared she was being rude after the question left her mouth.

“Maybe fear?” Ursa said. “Guilt.” She corrected.

“You know, sometimes I still feel upset with my dad for leaving my brother and me to fight in the war.”

“But you forgave him?”

Katara nodded. “I know what he did was the right thing to do and he did it to protect us.”

“Could you- would you go see Azula for me? I would ask Zuko, but I know how busy he is.”

Katara smiled. “Sure.”

Ursa smiled a sad smile. “Thank you, Katara. I really appreciate it.” She took a deep breath to clear her head. “Zuko has told me about the hospital you’re creating. It’s a great idea.”

“Thank you, we hope to make it more than just a hospital, and have also accessible health coverage for those who need it.” Katara smiled. “Would you perhaps be interested in being a provider of medicines for the hospital?”

Ursa smiled, “I would love to.” Katara smiled back.

Zuko followed Kiyi as she ran up to Katara with a doll in her hand. She nervously glanced at Zuko who gave her an encouraging nod. “Lady Katara, would you please come play with me?” Kiyi asked sweetly.

“Please.” Ursa corrected.

“ _ Please _ ,” Kiyi repeated.

Katara leaned down so she was closer to eye level to the young girl. “Of course I will.”

They played with dolls for a while, during which Zuko talked more with his mother. Then Kiyi got excited when Katara let her play with her long thick hair.

“It’s so pretty!”

“Thanks! Yours is too.” Katara responded. Kiyi giggled.

Zuko came up behind the two young girls. Kiyi noticed. “Look! Katara is letting me braid her hair! You don’t even let me play with yours.”

“Sorry Kiyi, But I don’t let just anyone do my hair.”

Katara couldn’t help but think about when she did his hair the night of the Fire Days Festival.

“We have to get going, Kiyi, but I promise that I’ll come by again soon.”

She pouted, but agreed and said goodbye to her brother and then to Katara.

Ursa followed suit after saying goodbye to her son, “Goodbye Katara. It was nice talking to you. Make sure you send me all the information that I need to know for the hospital when you get back.”

“I will, thank you so much for having me and for the tea.”

“Anytime.”

They walked outside. The two guards were outside seeming like they were curiously listening in. Katara followed Zuko back to the carriage and they headed back to the palace. 

As soon as the carriage started, Katara turned to Zuko, to face him, and asked. “Why did Aang know and I never did?” Her arms were crossed and there was a sternness in her tone.

Zuko looked at her, raised his good eyebrow and then  _ laughed. _

Katara frowned, assuming that he was laughing at her. “Why are you laughing?”

He laughed a little more and put his hand over his mouth. He finished quickly and removed his hand. Smiling, he answered her newer question. “Because I’m happy.”

The waterbender felt taken aback. She had seldom seen him laugh before. She smiled. But immediately stopped. “Wait, you didn’t tell me why you told Aang before me!”

“I guess I was really too busy hunting the Avatar, so when I first saw you, I think I really only saw you as an obstacle.”

“How flattering.” Katara joked. They talked all the way back to the palace and they continued their conversation while unconsciously walking through the Fire Lord’s personal wing of the palace.

“How about you? What did you think when you first saw me?” He asked in return.

Katara bit her lip and wondered if he was flirting. She didn’t mind it if he was. “When I first saw you and your giant ship, I figured you were trying to overcompensate for something, and then later you tied me up against a tree and I learned your fetishes real fast.”

Zuko blushed. “At least you didn’t think anything bad about my hair.”

“Oh, that was a  _ bad _ look.” 

Zuko was going to defend his choice in appearance but then sighed and said, “Yeah, I know.”

She leaned her head back and laughed. He opened the door to his room for her and guided her in with his hand momentarily on her back.

“Your hair has always been pretty.” He said while glancing at her hair. It was still in the braid Kiyi put it in. 

She touched the braid and giggled with heat in her face. “Thank you.”

He took a step closer to her. “Thanks for coming today to meet my mom.”

“Thank you for bringing me. I’m so happy you found her Zuko. I know how important she was to you, how important she  _ is  _ to you. You deserve to have your mother in your life, and she deserves to have you in hers. I can also see how happy she is that you found her and that you’ve reconnected.” Katara knew that Zuko didn’t really like showing vulnerability, so the fact that he had opened up to her the night of the Fire Days Festival and then took her with him to see his mom was huge.

Zuko smiled and took another step closer to her. She swallowed and felt goosebumps rise on her arms.

His pupils were blown wide and then his smile suddenly dropped. He looked a little nervous. “Katara.”

She tilted her head up to look up into his eyes. “Yes?”

He took a deep breath. They were so close. He whispered, “Can I- can I kiss you?”

She looked up at him, eyebrows raised and doe-eyed. She was surprised that Zuko asked to kiss her, she was so used to Aang always going in and doing it when he wanted. Looking at his face, it felt like she was in a trance. She closed her eyes and whispered back. “Yes.”

He gently put his hand at the back of her neck and the other on her cheek, leaned down and softly caressed her lips with his. She placed her hands on his shoulders and applied pressure against his lips in return.

His thumb caressed her face. She slid her hands from his shoulders to his collar. It was less elaborate and heavy today. Her hands then slid down to his warm chest. He hummed and pulled her head closer with his hands and turned his head a little to add more pressure to their lips.

Katara gave a soft sigh. Kissing Zuko was like mastering her element. It felt so good. She pressed their chests together. 

Zuko licked her bottom lip and absolutely  _ melted  _ at the sound she made. Katara was so expressive compared to what he was used to. Whenever she reacted strongly to something he did, he made a mental note to always remember what he did to cause them and keep them in mind in case he would get the chance to get her again. He had been so anxious since the night that he treated her sunburn. Every time he had seen her it felt like his hands were on her skin and he was back to laying in his bed thinking about her. He tried to distract himself and he never had the chance to spend time with her alone, even though it was what he was desperate to do.

His hands moved from her face to her hips and he stepped closer.

When he saw Katara in his office, he knew that he had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with her again and try his best to not be awkward. He hadn’t planned on kissing her, the plan was to suppress his feelings and then slowly show his interest if it seemed appropriate, but he got carried away.

There was a knock at Zuko’s door and Katara pulled away from him. They looked at each other while slightly panting. She whispered, “I should probably go.” 

Zuko nodded. “I’m sorry we got interrupted.” He whispered back.

Zuko watched as it dawned on Katara what just happened. Her eyes widened, her back went straighter and she nodded.

The knocking repeated, followed by Iroh’s voice. “Nephew, are you there?”

Katara quickly left through the tunnel that they used to go to the festival. Zuko watched her go and a little bit of self-doubt started to creep into his mind.

He approached with hollow footsteps. He wasn’t surprised to find her asleep, in fact, it was what he was planning on. He looked her over to see for certain if she was asleep and grabbed the items needed out of his bag. He was beginning his process of putting together what was needed for the process of feeding the girl the drink to put her into the right state of mind for the manipulation that needed to take place for the major plan to come into fruition.

Unfortunately, the man was clumsy and dropped his bag but thankfully the vial stayed securely in his hand. The sound of the bag hitting the ground and the contents inside it rattling alerted the sleeping girl awake.

“You’re here early. I haven’t even eaten my three-course breakfast yet.” She said sarcastically, “unless I have my nights and days mixed up.” When she talked, her open mouth revealed her sharp teeth and even sharper tongue.

He confirmed her belief that it was morning. “I think it would be better to proceed with what we’re doing when no one else is awake yet.”

She raised a brow. “You still haven’t told me what the point of _why_ we’re doing it.” 

She was chained down and her hair was matted and crazy, just like her fragmented mind he was trying to piece back together to be similar to what it once was, but stronger, one fit for a leader like her ancestors. “I’m doing this to help you, Princess. If you cooperate you will find the results effective and to your liking.

She snarled at him. “How can I trust you?”

“We both want the same thing. So you better listen to me or else.”

“Is that a threat?” She snapped at him.

His smile was chilling, “it’s not a threat but merely a recommendation.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, FINALLY they kissed. I was just as impatient about it as y'all probably were. (Hahaha).
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Come follow me on my Tumblr. I post sneak peeks, teasers, answer asks about my fics, and more: https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! The next update will be next Tuesday (4/28).


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't have this chapter out on time. An explanation as to why and the reason I didn't post teasers for the chapters this week is on my Tumblr. But do not fear because I promise to STAY ON TOP OF IT. Now, without further ado, chapter nine.

It was the final time Katara got to spend time with Suki before her and Ty Lee headed back to Kyoshi Island to finish training Ty Lee as the new Kyoshi Warrior captain. Once finished, Suki would leave for the South Pole. Katara knew it wouldn’t be long before she saw Suki again, next time as her sister in law, but as they laid in the grass pointing out the shapes of clouds, (that one totally looked like a boomerang), it felt bittersweet.

“Do you have all the plans for the wedding done?” Katara asked, turning to the other young woman.

“Pretty much.” Suki responded, “your Gran Gran was so excited that she pretty much did all the planning for us, but I helped her with including some Kyoshi Island traditions.”

Suki sat up and looked at Katara, “I’m excited for us to be officially sisters.”

“Me too.” Katara beamed. “I always wanted an older sister. I feel like it would have helped me figure a lot more stuff out when I was younger. Especially boy problems.”

Suki nodded, “I’ll always be here for you to talk to and lend some sisterly advice,” she said as she sat up.

Katara smiled and then it became fainter. ”Actually, there is something.” She didn’t feel like talking to Toph about it partly because she wasn’t too experienced in that department and she knew Thala’s advice would be sexual, and she also hadn’t known her and Zuko for as long. Katara sat up. “Zuko and I kissed.”

Suki looked ecstatic. “What? When?”

“Yesterday afternoon. We were talking and he asked to kiss me and I said yes. It was pretty spur of the moment.”

Suki’s smile was mischievously excited. “How was it?”

“It was good.” Katara blushed.

“Just good? What else? Was it sexy? Fast? Slow? Slobbery?”

“It was nice. Soft.” Katara answered, not being very descriptive.

“ _ But… _ ” Suki prompted

“I don’t know what I think.”

“Well, it sounds like he’s really into you.”

Katara paused for a moment. “I don’t think so. He was in a really good mood from when we met with- um, Iroh.”

“I don’t know, it feels like there might be something there. From what I’ve seen, his voice is a lot softer when talking to you.” Suki said encouragingly.

“I haven’t noticed that. It probably was still a just-for-fun, one-time thing. Zuko is really busy, obviously, since he is the Fire Lord, I don’t even think he has time to develop feelings for anyone.”

“That could be a possibility.” By the way that Suki said it, Katara didn’t think Suki believed what she said. “Well… do you like him?”

Katara took a second to think before answering. “I don’t know, it wasn’t like this with Aang. With Aang, it fell into place because it was convenient. There’s nothing about Zuko that’s convenient.”

“Convenient doesn’t mean attraction,” Suki reminded her. “There’s physical, romantic, sexual, and so forth.”

“I know. I guess it’s just kind of embarrassing.” Katara blushed and looked away shamefully.

Suki placed a hand on the other girl’s forearm. “Don’t be embarrassed. Those feelings are totally normal, and you don’t have to know for certain right now, or even tell me if you do know.”

Katara felt better. “Thanks, Suki.”

“Anytime, girl.” The two hugged.

“Don’t tell Sokka Zuko and I kissed.”

Suki threw back her head and laughed. “Of course I won’t.”

Katara and Suki then headed to the room she and Ty Lee shared, joined by Toph, to help her finish packing for her descent back home.

“Where is the circus freak, anyway?” Toph asked. 

Suki didn’t have to ask to know who the nickname was referring to. “She finished packing early this morning, so she’s spending the final day with Mai and maybe Zuko.”

Katara couldn't help but think about what Suki said. Zuko might be spending time with two rather attractive girls he grew up with. One of which was his ex. The water bender continued folding Suki’s clothes.

When they finished packing Suki’s suitcases to where they were almost overflowing, (Kyoshi warrior uniforms take up  _ a lot  _ of space), they went to the docks where the ship was waiting and met with Ty Lee.

“Katara, this is for you.” Ty Lee handed a swimsuit over to her, “when I looked through your clothes to help cut them, I noticed you didn’t have a swimsuit. I bought a new one today while out shopping with Mai so if you want my old one, you can have it. I think it will look super nice on you!”

Katara took it from her and appreciated the way it was white instead of red like all the other clothes she had seen in the Fire Nation. She always admired how Ty Lee seemed to have a rebellious sense of style when it came to color choice. She hugged the girl goodbye. “Thank you, Ty Lee. I’m so happy we got to spend some time together while you visited.”

“Me too.” Ty Lee returned and then went to hug Toph.

Katara hugged Suki one final time. “I’ll miss you,” Katara said.

“I’m gonna miss you too,” Suki promised.

When Ty Lee and Suki walked up onto the ship, Toph called after them saying, “See you at the wedding!”

Suki called back, “say goodbye to Zuko for us!”

Katara nodded. “Will do!”

During the next week, Katara saw Zuko every day, yet she was always too scared to bring up the kiss. She was waiting for him to bring it up but figured it must be the last thing on his mind since there were some key things taking place for the hospital they were creating together that week and the opening was getting closer and closer. She kept reminding herself she should be focused on the production as well, and not on what had happened between them.

About every moment she wasn’t busy with ambassador meetings, construction work on the hospital, and practicing the different forms of waterbending with Thala, she checked if Zuko was busy or not. If he wasn’t, they met together to discuss the final arrangements that needed to be put into action for the hospital. They started meeting in Katara’s room so they would be interrupted far less. Another reason Katara wouldn’t tell anyone was that meeting in Zuko’s room, the place where they kissed, would have been too distracting.

She has also been spending her time during the past week to sort out all the reasoning behind Zuko’s kiss, and why she said yes when he asked. She followed Suki’s advice and pondered her feelings for the Fire Lord, who was also her long time friend, Zuko. When her head hurt from trying to put together the emotional puzzle, she would take a break and just enjoy the time she was spending creating such a positive thing for the people of the Fire Nation with him.

There was one day that Haruk knocked on Katara’s bedroom door during one of their meetings, and when the Northern Water Tribe man saw Zuko behind Katara at the door frame, he frowned, said ‘never mind’, and left. Sometimes Toph would show up and when she got bored because she was unable to pry them away from their work, she’d complain and leave.

Katara looked around the rather large atrium in the palace and noticed it was quite populated. She had a meeting to attend to, but if she left then, she would be uncomfortably early. So, she thought she might take a swing at joining someone’s conversation. Her options were two earthbending ambassadors, Reyan and her wife, Aiguo and an advisor Katara thought was named Zhar, and two servants conversing. 

She chose to go talk to the two servants who seemed to be having a funny conversation since they were laughing. “Hello,” she greeted with a smile, and tried not to feel awkward.

The two servant women stiffened, the one in the brighter red spoke, “Hello, is there something we can help you with?”

“Oh, no. Nothing” Katara put her hands up and waved that thought away hurriedly. “I was coming over to say hi.”

The two women looked at each other and then smiled politely at Katara. The younger woman, who was wearing more of a currant red, said: “hello, how has your day been, Ambassador Katara?”

“It’s been good, how about yours?”

“Great,” she responded.

Their conversation carried on, talking about living in the Fire Nation, and staying in the castle and what their jobs of servants entailed. When Katara said goodbye and left to attend her meeting, the two women watched her walk away. The one in the currant red leaned into the other one and whispered, “She’s the tart people think might be sleeping with the Fire Lord I told you about.”

The meeting was held in the same room with a big round table that the first meeting Zuko invited her to where they came up with the hospital idea. Mai was at the head of the table for this meeting, as it was held for finances. To the right of her sat Zuko, and to the right of him, Katara was seated. The mahogany table was decorated with a vase of fire lilies, which Katara commented on liking before the meeting officially began.

When everyone settled into their seats and quieted down, Mai introduced herself and her job. Her monotone voice asked if there were any questions and no one said anything. She continued talking about the progress of the hospital planning and saying numbers and calculations Katara didn’t understand. Zuko and Iroh, as well as the royal accountants that were there, seemed to know what she was talking about. Then she started talking specifics on each segment of costs and who reported to her to make her calculations.

Iroh provided exact numbers for construction costs, including each worker’s wage. Zuko told her how much of the utilities of the hospital and the staff’s salary will be paid for in tax and the fraction that will come from payments from the patients. He also mentioned how he and Katara were still figuring out the school and teaching program and how much the higher education will cost.

There was one point during the meeting where the Fire Lord and Southern Water Tribe Ambassador made eye contact and smiled at each other. One of the royal accountants whispered to the other,  _ “poor lady Mai.”  _ Katara didn’t hear the exact words, though. It seemed that Mai heard it by her slight pause and ignored it and carried on. 

“Most of you are already aware, since it was brought up in the previous meeting, there will be a charity ball taking place here in the Fire Nation palace on the last day of this week.” Mai actually looked a little excited about this, Katara observed. “We will be doing this so there is a cushion in terms of the hospital start-up.”

Mai turned her attention to Zuko, “Is there anything you’d like to add, Fire Lord?”

“No, you may continue.”

She nodded and did as she was told. “I put together the guest list and have already sent out the invites. Along with those who are currently residing in the palace and have official jobs in the politics of our nation, I have invited Fire Nation nobles, parvenus, and higher-ups to allow them the chance to donate some of their wealth, as well as some others I feel would be good to have there.”

Zuko explained this to Katara earlier, even if they don’t necessarily like the idea of the hospital for the lower class and being taxed a higher sum, they will still donate in order to keep up appearances.

“The official invitations for all of you should arrive by the end of today.” She looked at the time and said, “Now, I have somewhere to be, but if you have questions, feel free to find me. That concludes this meeting.” And without another word, her elegant form walked out without a sound. Katara admired the way Mai handled financial and political affairs with such ease.

Katara turned and saw that most of the people sitting at the table were glancing back and forth between her and the Fire Lord. She turned to Iroh, “is there something on my face?”

“Only a lack of a smile.” Iroh responded, “Nephew, are you available for tea? It’s important.”

“Sure. Right now?” Zuko responded.

“Right now would be ideal,” Iroh said with a nod. The two men left to have tea and Katara followed suit and left as well, thinking she might as well go see what Toph was up to.

“Come in,” Toph had called before Katara knocked on the heavy door. The waterbender reprimanded herself for still not getting used to the blind earthbender,  _ who could feel people’s vibrations through the floor,  _ doing that. She entered Toph's room and sat down beside her on the couch.

“How was the meeting with Lady Monotone?” Toph asked.

“Her name is Mai, you know that, and it was good. Not only is everything going smoothly, but it’s also going faster than we thought it was going to.”

“Sounds cool.” Toph sounded less interested. Toph did her best to support Katara in this project, including using her earthbending to help construct the building, but beyond that Toph didn’t really care mostly due to the fact that she couldn’t really help since she was too young and didn’t really know how. She was taking her job as an ambassador relatively seriously, though.

“Have you noticed anything weird?” Katara asked the younger girl after a pause.

“What do you mean?”

“Today everyone seemed to have been whispering and looking at me for some reason.”

“You just noticed?” Toph said, her eyebrows raised high.

“Huh?” The waterbender was genuinely confused.

Toph shifted and turned her sitting position to face Katara more. “There are rumors going around about you and Zuko.”

“What about me and Zuko?” Katara leaned in closer to Toph. She had a feeling she already knew the answer but wanted Toph’s clarification.

“That the two of you are boinking, or at least are seeing each other.”

Katara couldn’t help the light facepalm she gave herself at Toph’s  _ eloquent  _ word choice. She started to wonder how the rumors got started, it’s not like Suki told anyone about the kiss. Not only did she leave the same day she found out, but she also wouldn’t ever do that sort of thing. “How long have these rumors been going on?” Katara asked.

“About a week or two, apparently a servant walked in on the Fire Lord giving his favorite Southern Water Tribe Ambassador an erotic massage.”

“Wha-oh!” It must have been when Zuko was applying the salve to her sunburn. They must’ve been so caught up in the moment that they didn’t see or hear anyone open the door, peek in, and then close it. She blushed at the thought. Katara calmed herself, knowing Toph would be able to feel her blush and hear acceleration.

__ “But we were all able to tell something was happening even before then.”

“Who’s  _ we _ ?” Katara demanded more than asked.

“Me, Suki, Uncle Iroh, Ty Lee, Thala, and honestly probably Haruk. You’re pretty late to the party”

“Well, you're all wrong. There’s nothing going on between Zuko and I!” Katara replied while raising her hands and scooting forward in her seat.

Toph laughed and then in a sing-song voice said, “I can tell that you’re lying!”

Katara knew she was. Maybe. It was complicated. She stood up and said, “I’ve gotta go find Zuko and talk to him about this.”

Toph, while smirking, responded, “Yeah, you do that,” as Katara left out the door.

She didn’t even bother with waiting for Zuko to answer the door after she knocked on it, which in hindsight could have ended badly. She let herself into his room and was met with Iroh and Zuko facing each other, now with their heads turned to see who entered.

Iroh’s surprised face turned into a smile, one that resembled his nephew’s cunning one at times, and said “Nephew, we must continue our conversation later. Master Katara looks like she has something important to talk about with you.”

Katara sheepishly responded, “No, it’s okay, I can wait until you two are done.” She had her hands up to stop Iroh from leaving.

“Don’t worry, dear. I need to go back to my tea shop anyway. I have a new idea for a recipe I’d like to try out with chai and cool mint.” 

“Okay then, thank you,” Katara said and then Iroh bowed and excused himself. 

Zuko watched as his uncle left, thinking about what the end of their conversation was about and what the older man was alluding to.

_ “Nephew, have you noticed Lady Mai’s demeanor lately?” _

_ “No, I haven’t. Is there something wrong?” _

_ “She seems to be a bit gloomier and missing someone more than normal. It probably has something to do with what people are saying, although I could be mistaken.” _

_ “What people have been saying? Is it about her financial work?” Zuko felt confused. _

Zuko watched as Katara walked to where Iroh was standing previously, but changed her mind and sat in one of the seating chairs instead. He sat down in the armchair facing hers.

“So…” Zuko began, a little nervous about if this was the kiss they shared, he wanted to leave it to her to bring it up. He thought it would be better since he was the one who asked to kiss her in the first place. But because a while had passed and she hadn’t said anything, he was worried she finally came by to say he overstepped a boundary or something.

He took a deep breath. The fact they were in the same room they were in when they kissed,  _ together again _ , didn’t escape his notice, but he pushed those thoughts aside. Katara came with a purpose and he would let her speak first. “

Toph told me there is a rumor about you and me being involved. Apparently it’s been going on for a while.” 

“And by involved, you mean like… dating?” Well, this wasn’t what he was expecting.

“A little more than just ‘dating’, but yeah.”

“Oh.” Half of Zuko was surprised, while the other half wasn’t. The people in the Fire Nation palace loved to run their mouths regarding royal affairs. “I guess that explains why no one on my own council has pressed me to marry a relative of theirs for the past week.”

“They haven’t?” Katara asked, tilting her head a little to the side.

“No, they haven’t. They probably heard the rumors and think you’re on your way to being the next Firelady.” He gave a loud, slightly disappointed, but mostly annoyed exhale. “I’ll put an end to the rumors immediately.”

“How would you do that without feeding the rumor mill even more?” Katara asked with one eyebrow raised.

Zuko leaned back in the red cushioned chair. “I’d probably hold a meeting to inform my council and then announce to everyone else presiding in the castle while sitting and eating a meal in the dining hall.” Zuko shrugged.

Katara’s point of eyesight changed to something to the left and behind him. She was biting her lip and was clearly thinking of something. “You don’t have to put an end to them. The rumors, I mean.”

“What?” Zuko didn’t dare move a single muscle.

Her eyes returned to meet his, but her fingers moved around each other in her lap. “This way the councilmen are off your back.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not saying we should pretend to be in a relationship or anything. I’m just thinking out loud. What if we both don’t respond to the rumors and pretend to be ignorant like we previously were, and if anyone asks us anything, we choose not to confirm or deny anything?”

Zuko’s eyes widened. “What about you? Don’t you mind having people talk about you like this? What if they call you slurs because they think we might be sleeping together?” His voice cracked a little at the thought. He hoped she didn’t notice.

Katara gave a smile of self-pity. “It wouldn’t be the first time. I was, after all, in a pretty long term relationship with the avatar.”

_‘That’s right, she was,’_ Zuko thought. Maybe the things that old fashioned people will look down on her for, she’s already done with Aang or someone else. He had no right to be unhappy about the thought, but he still didn’t like it.

“It’s really no big deal, Zuko. It will keep people off your back about the whole political marriage thing, and the rumor will eventually die out and become old news anyway.”

“Okay.” Zuko agrees with a nod. Why did he just agree?

“Okay?” Katara asked, looking for a reaffirmation.

“Yeah,” Zuko said. Why on earth did he agree again?

He felt, well, honestly a little dejected. He liked Katara. Really  _ really  _ liked her. He was hoping to somehow work up the courage to tell her.  _ ‘Hey, you know how I kissed you a week ago? Well, that’s because I’ve been fantasizing about doing it for like a week and even a little bit when I was sixteen and teaching Aang firebending. Sometimes I imagined we did more than that. Have I ever told you how good you always looked in just your bindings?’  _ Or  _ ‘we both know those rumors aren’t true, but how about we make them real.’  _ He cringed. Neither of those he’d actually say, but it was a start for brainstorming.

Katara made her leave and he politely followed her to the door.

Her saying she was fine with people having a run on what their relationship was, felt like she was saying ‘it’s okay because after all, they’re only rumors.’ It felt like she was rejecting him before he even said anything. Maybe this was her response to kiss as well: rejecting talking about it and anything that could come from it, and moving on to  _ not having a relationship, but letting people think they did _ . Zuko took another exhale. It stung.

As much as the idea made Katara uncomfortable, she promised Ursa that she would do it. This was her first time going underneath the palace into the dungeon. Zuko had granted her access early to go and see his sister. He offered to go with her, and Katara almost said yes, but then she remembered how Ursa preferred not to have Zuko do it. Also, Zuko’s mood seemed to shift into a weird one during their conversation the day prior and she didn’t want him around to worry and concern her while she was doing this. She reassured Zuko she would be fine and left on her own and followed his instruction on the way he wanted her to get down there. The passageway underneath the palace became even more complicated than Katara thought.

She took a deep breath and politely knocked on the door to the Princess’ cell before opening it. She stepped inside and the door shut loudly behind her, causing Katara to flinch. Azula didn’t even look up at the sound of someone entering. She was sitting on the floor, scratching and sharpening her bloody nails against the cement. The walls of the room were charred and there was a torn-up pillow on the bed. Katara felt at her side to make sure the waterskin she put on before entering was still there, even though there wasn’t any way it could have disappeared. The confirmation it was there made Katara relax. It also reminded Katara she shouldn't be scared or nervous to be alone with Azula. She had defeated her once before and she could do it again, and if Azula did try to do anything to her, there were guards outside listening and would immediately enter and help.

Still looking down, Azula brusquely spoke. “I don’t fucking want you here,  _ Fire Lord _ .”

Katara straightened her back. “Zuko isn’t here.” Now that her nerves were gone, Katara’s resentment for the girl rose and shone through in her tone.

The prisoner’s head shot up at the waterbender’s voice. Choppy pieces of dirty hair were in her eyes and a large cat-like grin grew on her face with her eyebrows drawn together and down. She slowly rose to her feet.

It gave Katara a chance to observe the girl more. There were rips in her clothing and bruising and burns smattered across her arms. It didn’t make sense to Katara, she knew Zuko made sure she received proper care, so Azula’s mental state must have been driving her to do these changes to her appearance to herself. It made Katara not be able to help herself from feeling concerned for the girl.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a hallucination of the Avatar’s waterbending bitch.” Azula sounded disturbingly excited.

Katara bravely took another step forward further into the room. “I’m not a hallucination and I’m not Aang’s ‘ _ waterbending bitch _ .’ We aren't even together anymore.” Katara reprimanded herself, unsure why Azula’s vulnerability made her want to be so honest and open with her.

Azula’s face turned into a scowl of confusion. “Why are you here in the Fire Nation?” 

“I’ve been given the job of Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe. How have you been, Azula? I heard that you’ve been meeting with Doctor Aiguo.”

She scoffed and sat down on her bed. “You don’t care how I am.” 

Katara was going to disagree, but she wasn’t sure if it was true or not, so she tried a different approach to simple conversation. “What do you do during your sessions together?”

Azula blanked and didn’t answer for a moment. “I can’t remember.”

Katara wanted to roll her eyes, feeling that Azula was being sassy and not answering any of her questions.

Azula appeared to have a headache. She had one hand gripping at her head, her long pointed nails leaving a scratch at her face. Her eyes still hadn’t broken contact with Katara’s.

“The reason I’m here Azula is that I saw your mother recently.” 

Azula’s mood previously was bratty and conniving, but now it had shifted to something darker and angrier. She practically spat venom in her words. “You must mean a lot to dear old Zuzu if he took you to see her. How special.” Her voice rose to a higher pitch with her ending sarcastic words. 

Katara could tell she was calculating something behind her eyes. “She was wondering how you were doing.”

Azula sneered and yelled. “ _ Get out. _ ”

Katara stayed still. “She cares a lot about you, you know.”

Azula jumped back up onto her feet. Her eyes were wild and she was breathing a quick and uneven shallow breath. “I said to  _ get out! NOW!”  _ In less than a second, there was a large blue flame in Azula’s palm and she launched it towards Katara. Katara pulled water from the pouch it was being contained and snuffed out the fire. Katara glared back at Azula and leaped out the door.

One guard quickly locked it behind her while another one asked if she was okay. “I’m fine. It was clear she wasn’t really trying to hit me. Even with being out of practice for a couple of years, she would have had better accuracy. She wanted me to leave.”

“You did a good job of talking to her.” The guard offered. “We will report to the Fire Lord what happened.”

Katara took a calming breath and gave a smile. “Thanks.” She left, unsure what she would tell Ursa. Azula seemed to have not lost herself completely. And she was still able to be snarky like she had been before. That was a good sign, at least. Deciding she needed to go do something to distract herself from what just happened, Katara sought out someone to converse with who probably wouldn’t attempt to burn her to a crisp.

It was easy to lose track of time for Katara when it came to discussing medical care. The young waterbender and hospital organizer lost so much track of time in her conversation about different types of healing bodywork in the different nations with the Royal Physician, (she found out the Fire Nation preferred the use of Shiatsu, which was interesting when compared with the Earth Kingdom’s form of Qigong), that it became later than she realized. From going to Azula to the long conversation she had with the Royal Physician, she had almost missed dinner. She knew the servants would make her her own late dinner if she requested, but she found it to be a little impractical and unnecessary for the situation.

She normally would have found the physician to be an attractive man, despite him being at least ten years older than her, and maybe even would have flirted a little bit with him. But her mind these days seemed to be filled with the thoughts of another Fire Nation man: the Fire Lord.

_ ‘You must mean a lot to dear old Zuzu if he took you to see her.’ _

_ ‘We were all able to tell something was happening even before then.’ _

_ ‘You’ll end up with a very powerful bender.’ _

Katara knew for a long time now that the fortune Aunt Wu gave her wasn’t about Aang like she originally thought. That was fine, it wasn’t meant to be. She knew of another powerful bender she was too stubborn and hurt to pay attention to when she was younger, not that it meant the fortune was definitely about him instead. She paid attention to him now, though. Almost too much attention. When Zuko kissed her, it felt like she had spent so long waiting for it and didn’t even know. Those words wouldn’t form together when she spoke on the topic to Suki.

She had never felt that way before. She needed to be honest with herself. She did know what these feelings she had about him were and that had seemed to be building up since she first moved to the Fire Nation capital: she liked him. As more than a friend and a little more than she had ever liked anyone before.

When she showed up at the dining table, she discovered she wasn’t alone. Aiguo was there and he looked delighted to see her.

“Ambassador Katara! How are you?” He gestured to the chair next to him. “Here, come sit. I assume you haven’t eaten yet.”

She sat beside him in the chair he had directed her to and began to fill her plate with food. The other man continued talking, pretty quickly. “Unfortunately, I was also late for supper. I was busy in an appointment with- well, that’s confidential.”

Katara nodded and continued to eat her food, she must not have realized how hungry she was earlier. Doctor Aiguo had a lot of patients currently residing in the palace. Katara figured the important patient that he was referring to wasn’t Azula, though, since she was just with her earlier. But he didn’t know that she knew that he worked with her, so she kept her mouth shut. 

She poured the liquid from the pitcher into her cup and offered to pour him some. He refused, stating he wasn’t thirsty.

“So,” the waterbender took her shot at casual conversation, “how did you get into psychology?”

He grinned, “I think I’ve always been interested in it. I find it fascinating how one can manipulate the mind to be better.” He took a bite of his food. “Of course I also enjoy the aspect of helping people with their feelings and issues they are currently facing.”

Katara nodded, her mouth still full of food. Helping people was her favorite part of being a healer too.

“Ambassador Katara, would you like to arrange a time for a session together? I can only imagine how taxing putting together a hospital can be on your mind.” 

The psychology professional had asked her this before, and like she had previously, she declined. “I really appreciate the offer, but no thank you. I’m currently doing a pretty good job of sorting out and handling my feelings on my own.” Besides, she was surrounded by people she could talk to if she was feeling down or confused. Like Toph, or recently Suki when she visited.

“Okay, if you’re sure. But don’t be surprised if I ask again.” They continued the rest of their meal in casual conversation, discussing things like the weather, impressive medical stories, and how the hospital is planned to be run and so forth.

Katara finished her food and began to feel thirsty, so she picked up her drink and took a small sip. It tasted good, so she took another one. And then everything seemed to shift and her pupils dilated wide. Her vision began to swim with fascinating surrealistic colors. Doctor Aiguo said something beside her, but she didn’t understand what it was due to the sound being distorted. Even being in her body felt different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's your fanfiction writing kink? Mine is giving the protagonists what they want and then immediately taking it away. >:)
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading, it means the world to me.
> 
> This chapter probably left a lot of y'all with a lot of questions, but don't worry, answers are coming. 
> 
> If you have any specific questions, ask me on my Tumblr. I also post teasers to future chapters there. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> I made a Pinterest board for this fic that I continuously update. You should go check it out. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> The next update will be on Tuesday (5/5). Stay safe!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is a teeny-tiny bit of dubious consent for the mild sexual content at the beginning of this chapter, but don't worry, it, of course, stops before it gets out of hand.

As the Fire Lord walked through the palace, he mentally gave himself a pep talk. He could do it. He could meet with Katara and be professional towards her as a relationship between a Fire Lord and his ambassador. He could place his romantic feelings to the side as not to ruin their friendship. It was obvious to him that she didn’t reciprocate his more than platonic affection, so if he tried to make a move or anything now, it might cause her to feel uncomfortable around him, and then she would move back home and barely ever write to him. The idea of that made him feel physically ill. 

He shook his head to get the thought of her not wanting to be his friend anymore out of his head. He continued his walk to find the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador and see if she was free to meet with him to go over the last of the resumés submitted by healers looking to be employed at the hospital.

He was headed to her room but when he passed by the dining room, he thought that she could possibly not be done eating her dinner yet, so he might as well check in there. He found that she actually was there and was seated beside Doctor Aiguo. It looked like she was intensely making her silverware  _ talk to each other? _

“Fire Lord Zuko, how good it is to see you! Master Katara and I were just having a nice conversation.” Aiguo greeted with a smile. “Is there something that you need or that I could help you with?”

“Actually, I was hoping to steal Ambassador Katara away to meet on something important.”

The psychologist frowned, but then his smile returned, “of course, we will have to finish this conversation at a later time, Master Katara.” 

When he left, Zuko stepped closer to stand beside Katara, who was still playing with the cutlery. “Katara, are you free to look over the rest of the resumes for the hospital staff?”

Katara barely paid him any mind. She suddenly dropped the utensils. “The knife stabbed the spoon! I need to heal it!” She was frantically moving her arms and wiggling around.

Zuko raised his brow. When he noticed her drink, he picked it up and took a sniff. He let out a groan. He placed a hand on her arm to get her to pause and listen to him, “Katara, your drink contains a mix of hard alcohol and cactus juice. Someone from the kitchen must have been trying to get on some sort of weird lucid trip and accidentally switched your drinks.”

Katara’s eyes widened. “Does that mean I’m gonna hallucinate and act all weird?”

“I think that you already have.” He stood up and pulled her out of her chair. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

The walk there was quite the journey. She ran around up and down the hallway, talked about being able to see his colorful aura like Ty Lee, and at one point when they passed by the large painting of Ozai, she hallucinated that it caught on fire and exploded. Despite all this, she was still in a happy and giggly mood. Zuko had never experimented with cactus juice before, and he definitely has never mixed it with alcohol. Watching Katara, he decided that he never will.

“I understand why Sokka liked Princess Yue so much, the moon is  _ amaziiiing.”  _ Katara giggled. They were finally in the sitting area of her room after all the long detours she led them down. Her mind seemed to be  _ slightly _ back to normal, which made sense since because by the look of her cup, she had only taken a couple of sips of the strange concoction. He had wished he could lend Katara his firebending so that she could burn at least the alcohol out of her system.

“Yeah, I’ve never had a chance to talk to the moon spirit and apologize for everything, but your brother has told me a bit about her here and there.” He was standing away from her, if he stepped back too much farther, his shins would make contact with the coffee table.

She was still smiling. “People look so pretty in the moonlight.” Her eyes had a bright glint in them.

Zuko swallowed and then nodded. There was no light in her room beside the moonlight shining in through her window, the red silk curtain was drawn back which allowed the light to completely pool in. “Yeah. They are.”

She looked at him and her face went from smiling to serious. But despite that, her cheeks were tinted pink with a light blush. “I also like the sun.” She took a step closer to him. “It feels good on my skin.”

“Uh, yeah.” Zuko didn’t know why he was feeling a little nervous.

Katara pouted. “Except for the time I got a sunburn.”

Zuko blushed at the memory and it didn’t escape Katara’s notice. There was a mischievous glint in her eye. “Nobody has touched me like that before, not even Aang. I didn’t want him to and he never seemed to want to either.” 

The cactus juice and alcohol concoction gave her a loose tongue that she seemed to be unable to control. Zuko blinked when he realized what Katara’s words implied.  _ She’s a virgin.  _ “O-oh Yeah?” He asked.

She took another step to be even closer to him and he noticed how wide her pupils still were. “I liked it when you touched me. It felt good.” Her voice was soft and dreamlike.

They were still standing in the middle of her room in the glowing moonlight.

Zuko couldn’t help but let his own honesty slip out, but still remained eye contact with the girl. “I, um, I liked it too. T-touching you, I mean.” His face felt so hot, he figured that his blush was a deeper red than the color of his shirt.

Another step, they were less than a foot apart. “I want you to touch me again.” Zuko was painfully aroused at what Katara was saying and he knew Katara could tell. “It felt so warm and relieving and left me wanting more.”

Zuko gasped, his pants felt  _ incredibly tight  _ and he knew Katara was able to see. He felt a little insecure but tried not to think too much about it.

She was about five inches apart from him. She seductively whispered in a deep voice, “can I touch you too?”

He was so transfixed by her that he only stared back into her eyes.

She didn’t wait for his answer. She immediately set to work, her hands rubbing his shoulders and wandering down his chest and torso and then back up. When she leaned forward and kissed his neck, a growl was ripped from Zuko’s throat and he decided that he would worry about being self-conscious of the noise later. He relaxed and shut his eyes. The kissing on his neck got more and more intense from licking his adam’s apple to nipping at the veins. Mai had never kissed his neck like this before. His hands went to her hips and he gripped them. She gave an appreciative moan. It was a new experience and he was absolutely loving it. His brain felt hotter and foggy when Katara’s actions accelerated. She bit his neck,  _ hard,  _ and then sucked on it and peppered the bite with kisses once more.

Zuko’s eyes snapped open. This wasn’t right. Katara wasn’t in her right mind. He was taking advantage of her and it was so far from honorable that it made him sick. She couldn’t give proper consent with the alcohol and cactus juice in her system.

_ ‘That’s what all of that was, wasn’t it? The drink talking?’  _ He felt so stupid. Of course, she didn’t want to do any of that stuff with him. He already knew that. He pushed her to arm’s length away from him. “Katara, you need to go to bed and sleep.” 

“ _ Noooo _ .” She breathed out and stepped back to him.

He pushed her away again. “Yes. You do.” He turned from her and wasted no time to leave immediately. Katara had a confused expression on her face as he stepped through the door without looking back at her.

“Why do I feel like this? What are you doing to me?” She sounded desperate.

He responded calmly. “I’ve answered this question before. I’m healing you.”

“I don’t feel healed!”

“It’s a long process, Princess. Now  _ focus _ .”

The pounding ache in her head was one of the worst feelings that she had ever felt. Katara opened her eyes and quickly learned that it was a mistake to do so when the bright morning light hit her pupils and irises, causing the pain in the frontal lobe of her brain to intensify. She let out a loud groan and pulled her pillow over her face.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Toph’s voice said only a little sarcastically.

Katara sighed and sat up, she grumpily responded, “yup.”

Toph lifted a teacup towards Katara’s face, “Drink this, last night you accidentally drank a mix of alcohol and cactus juice. Probably from someone who was trying to get high but low at the same time. This should help you with your weird hangover.”

Katara took the cup and gulped it down, “it tastes like sludge.”

“Yes, But it’s caffeinated sludge.” Toph reasoned. The young girl was not-so-surprisingly good at curing hangovers. “Flameo Hotman had the kitchen servants make it for you this morning.”

Katara sputtered out her drink at the mention of the Fire Lord, all the memories from last night rushing back into her still pounding head. “Oh Agni, Zuko!”

Toph smirked, “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

Katara set down the now empty teacup with a groan and covered her face with her hands and dove headfirst into the story of what happened the night before, being completely honest and not leaving out any details because she knew that if she did, the young blind, earthbending  _ human lie detector _ would know.

“So basically, you’re worried that you assaulted him,” Toph said, summing up her concern.

“Spirits,  _ I did assault him. _ ” She crashed her red face into the just as red pillow again.

Toph shrugged. “I’m sure that he’ll understand if you explain to him how bad you feel and apologize. Now hurry and get ready. We have an ambassador meeting to go to. Here’s another cup of your specially brewed hangover cure.”

Katara groaned and took the cup. She slid the disgusting fluid down her throat and quickly got changed. If it was almost time for the meeting, that meant she didn’t wake up until the middle of the afternoon.

They showed up at the meeting with a couple of minutes to spare. The two young benders walked towards Thala, who was hitting Haruk on the back of the head and telling him to leave Reyan alone and  _ ‘stop askin’ her ‘bout her an’ her wife’s sex life, ya pervert! _ ’ When Haruk did leave, Thala sat down beside Reyan. “Men are annoying.”

“Not all men are, some of them are dead,” Reyan responded and the two women laughed. Katara and Toph took a seat beside them.

Zuko walked in, indicating that it was about time to start the meeting. He sat down and accidentally made eye contact with Katara, blushed, and looked away. It made guilt swell up in Katara’s stomach.

The meeting was mostly a discussion between the Fire Lord and the ambassadors from the Great Desert and Ba Sing Se about trading in the Earth Kingdom. Reyan spoke up throughout the meeting about improving the Fire Nation’s trading system. Katara found the points she made to be impressive and told her so.

Zuko shifted his head at one point while talking, briefly revealing a part of his neck that was marked in a very interesting shape. Thala noticed a dark purpling yellow bruise. “What’s that on the Fire Lord’s neck?” She whispered, as to not interrupt the meeting.

Toph let out a snicker and whispered. “Nice one, Sweetness!”

Katara cringed.

Iroh patiently waited in the Fire Lord’s room for his nephew to be finished with the multiple meetings that he had stacked up back to back that day so that he and Zuko could finish the conversation that they were having a few days prior about the mental health of Lady Mai, as well as the rumors going around. Iroh was also very interested to know what Master Katara and his nephew discussed after he left.

He brought freshly brewed tea from a new recipe he recently created in the teapot and teacup set that Zuko gave him for his previous birthday for the two men to sit and drink from as they calmly discussed everything that was going on.

Calm was not what the wiser older man was met with though when his nephew pushed open his bedroom door and had quite the distressed look on his face that displayed all sorts of emotions. He hadn’t seen him this emotionally diverse since he was a lot younger and searching for the avatar.

“Oh, Uncle. Sorry, I forgot we were meeting today.”

“That’s alright, Nephew, I understand. The life of a Fire Lord is a busy one.”

Zuko sat across from him and poured himself a cup of tea.

Iroh watched his nephew’s frigid and tense movements and decided that their previous conversation could once again wait. “What’s bothering you, Zuko?”

Zuko took a deep breath. He began his long-winded rant and Iroh quietly nodded and drank tea while Zuko spoke and got more and more increasingly frustrated.

The rant started as political. How unorganized trading with the Earth Kingdom was. Then to how the Earth King thinks that Ba Sing Se deserves more compensation after the war, even though the Fire Nation had all the other nations to compensate that Zuko needed to worry about. He went on a tangent about how a lot of his advisors were against the slight raise in taxes for the more wealthy, which made Zuko frustrated because. “Why should they care so much, even with the two percent increase, they’ll still be rich anyway!” That led him to how his advisors care more about him getting married and quickly producing an heir than the death threats that he was receiving. And finally, while he was now standing and frustratedly pacing around the room as he spoke, the topic landed on Master Katara.

He went through realizing he liked her to the moment when he first kissed her to the conversation that felt like a rejection about letting people wonder and think that they might be dating. 

“Nephew, I see that what is taking place between you and Master Katara is the true root of your stress and frustration,” Iroh interjected when Zuko finally paused to take a breath. “I think that the next moment you have a moment to talk to her alone, you should be the first to bring up when you kissed her and tell her how you feel about her.”

Zuko had his face in his hands. “But it’s gotten even more complicated now. Last night she accidentally drank something with alcohol and cactus juice in it, so I helped her get back to her room. She was acting weird and was, um, a little flirty- and really forward. She was obviously not in her right mind.”

Iroh chuckled. “That must be the explanation for the marking on your neck, although she must have been a little more than ‘flirty’.” 

Zuko blushed and quickly turned to the closest reflective surface and looked into it. When he saw the hickey in his reflection on the glass window, he slapped his hand over it to cover it. He must not have noticed while getting ready that morning. Iroh figured that the servants didn’t say anything to him but he can only imagine how much fuel was now added to the gossip fire.

Zuko sighed. “I’m worried that I might have taken advantage of her. I mean, I stopped her, but…”

Iroh nodded, he knew in his heart that his nephew wouldn’t do anything dishonorable to a woman who was unable to give her proper consent, but he still looked worried like he might have crossed a line, and if it made Katara uncomfortable, she deserved an apology. “I think that may be another thing you will need to discuss with her and apologize for.”

Zuko nodded, but still looked dejected. “I don’t know how to approach her, though. Or what to say exactly when I do. It’s all a big mess now.”

Iroh looked at his nephew sympathetically. “Maybe you need some time to relax before you do so. I received news that the private royal hot spring will be reopening tonight after dinner, I doubt anyone else will be there so you can take some time to sort some thoughts out by yourself. It also gives you an excuse to distress from all your challenging duties as the Fire Lord.”

Zuko nodded. “I think I actually will do that. Thank you, Uncle.”

Iroh smiled, “I’m glad that I could help. Now, I should probably get going. Ambassador Reyan and her lovely wife have been stopping at my tea shop more and more frequently and have invited me to dinner at their home. I need to go home soon and make a new brew of their favorite tea to bring.”

The two men hugged and exchanged their goodbyes and Iroh exited the Fire Lord’s room. In the hallway, Iroh noticed his favorite young waterbender walking alone. “Master Katara! How are you?”

She smiled brightly. “Former general Iroh, it’s good to see you. I’m great, a little stressed about the hospital and the ball tomorrow night and everything.”

Iroh nodded. “You know, I just heard that the royal private hot springs are reopening tonight after dinner since the maintenance is all done. You should go. They usually are only for members of the royal family, but I’ll let Ara, the very kind head servant, know that I gave you permission to be there, I’m passing by there right now, anyway. She’ll swing by to your room to give you a key before dinner has ended.”

Katara looked elated. “Thank you, Iroh! I will!” She gave him a hug.

Iroh informed her that he now had to get going and as he walked away, there was a mischievous but wise smile on his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Twas a shorter chapter, but I hope that you guys still enjoyed it. Writing in Iroh's pov was so flip flapping fun.
> 
> Pinterest board for the fic here. I added a section titled 'The Cactus Juice Incident'. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Follow my Tumblr, I post sneak peeks and answer asks about future chapters and what-not. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading! I will update this fic again next Tuesday (5/12).


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to one of my favorite chapters!!! You guys have no idea how excited I've been to share this chapter!!!  
> Warning: mild sexual content and violence.

The warm water was so soothing on his sore neck and shoulders. Unfortunately, it only helped so much with the stress and frustration Zuko was dealing with in his head. Talking with his uncle earlier had helped a little bit, but it all returned tenfold when his councilmen hounded him during dinner about new laws and such. Then it got even worse when he received a report from the leader of the royal guards that when Katara visited Azula and the incarcerated woman shot fire at her. Even if Katara was loopy when he saw her after her visit, he wished she told him. That was why he wanted to go with her, even though he knew she was fully capable of protecting not only herself but other people at the same time.

The hot spring he was in was larger than the one his uncle and he found while traveling. It could probably fit about four to five people comfortably, but he was taking up more room than what was needed for one person with his arms stretched against the back railing and his legs opened comfortably wide. It was designed by Fire Lady Larsina during Azulon’s reign and had spent the last couple of months being closed due to the water containing too much bacteria and needed cleaning. He never used it when he was younger, due to it usually traditionally only being a private place for the Fire Lady.

Zuko heard footsteps and at the sound of a familiar voice, he opened his eyes from the previous resting-state they were in.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t know anyone else would be in here,” Katara said a little awkwardly. 

Her hair was in a braid, which he hadn’t seen her style it in for a while. She was wearing what Zuko recognized to be Ty Lee’s old favorite swimsuit. The white fabric looked really nice on her exotic darker skin. It seemed to be tighter on her curvier shape than it was on its previous owner. This was the first time in so long that Zuko had seen her shapely muscular legs and  _ so much cleavage. _ This swimsuit seemed to be even more revealing on her than the bindings she used to practice waterbending in.

Zuko hadn’t masturbated that day or even the night before when he got back to his room, but at that moment, he really wished the had because he was so incredibly aroused just by looking at her and hearing her voice. He shifted and crossed his legs in what he hoped looked like a casual way. He didn’t have an erection yet, but he was taking precautions.

Katara had never used a hot spring before, but she had always wanted to. Being surrounded by the relaxing warmth of her element sounded like heaven. But when she arrived, she saw the Fire Lord alone and since things were still so awkward between the two of them, she thought maybe he wouldn’t want her there. After all, he was there first. 

“I, um, I can leave if you want.” She did her best to sound polite and not reveal her nervousness.

“What? No. You don’t have to leave.” Zuko answered. 

“Okay. Thank you.” She sat down on the edge and placed her legs in the water to get used to the heat before completely submerging.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, much like how he was when she first arrived and walked up. His thick dark hair was down and slightly wet due to sweat and steam. His strong muscular arms were on the rim of the small poo, and his shoulders were so broad. He’s changed so much from when they were younger and in the Western Air Temple. He and his form were much older now, but she noticed that the first night she saw him again in Iroh’s tea shop.

His torso had nice abdominal muscles, above which was the lightning scar that even though it was fading, still so prominently there. He was wearing deep red swim shorts, but she didn’t allow her gaze to linger there too long. Instead, she brought her gaze back up. His neck had a prominent Adam’s apple and it was nice to look at. Next to his Adam’s apple was something even more eye-catching: a bite mark bruising purple and yellow.

She blushed deeply as the scene from last night where she gave that bruise to him played through her mind and then when she was called out for it again earlier that day.

“Um, Zuko…” She discreetly coughed into her hand. “About last night-“

His eyes snapped open and he tilted his head up to look at her. He was waiting for her to continue.

“I’m really sorry. What I did wasn’t okay. If I was in my right mind I promise I wouldn’t have done anything I did.”

Zuko looked like he was experiencing a few emotions, but none of them Katara was able to pinpoint. “Yeah. Of course, you only did that because of the cactus juice.” He sounded agitated.

“That- I mean- the  _ asking _ -“

“I know what you meant.” He said, sounding a little short with her. He slid his hand over his eyes. “I’m sorry, too. I, uh, I should have stopped you sooner.”

That’s right. He didn’t stop her right away. What did that mean? She huffed, more confused than ever. “It’s fine. You didn’t do anything.”

He swallowed and his eyebrows came closer together, but he put his head back and stared at the sky. 

She felt sheepish. “Anyway, um, on your neck. I can heal that.”

“No, it’s okay. I actually like it there.” Both of their eyes widened and she blushed and looked away. “I mean- it’s fine.” She didn’t dare to look at his face.

The awkward silence lagged on, so Katara slid completely into the water.

_ ‘Oh, spirits, she thinks she’s at fault.’  _ Where was Zuko even supposed to go from there? He didn’t know so he just let her lead the conversation, which caused him to accidentally admit in a roundabout way that thinking about the hickey on his neck she gave him turned him on and he didn’t want to get rid of it.

He decided to try and sit back and relax and try his best to not fixate on the semi-dressed girl near him. It was hard to do that, though, because as said girl slowly sunk deeper and deeper into the water, she made little noises of sighs and gasps, and hearing them made precaution of crossing his legs in case he got a hard-on come in handy.

_ ‘I must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve this torment. It was probably murder.’  _ Zuko thought to himself, referring to withstanding the waterbender’s unintentional sex appeal. He was beginning to wish he took her up on her offer for her to leave. Not because he didn’t like having her around of course, but because he was already in a bad mood and now he could add sexually onto the long list of his frustrations. He wanted to get out of the hot spring himself but with the very noticeable erection he was sporting and the way swim shorts always seemed to cling  _ right there  _ when getting out of the water, it would be far too embarrassing to actually do so.

“So…” Katara started, noticeably feeling awkward. “The hospital is done being built.”

“Yup.”

“And the charity ball is tomorrow night. It should be fun.”

“Yeah.”

Katara crossed her arms, visibly annoyed with his short answers. Zuko definitely kept his eyes on the water and not on her now pushed up breasts.

“You know, Haruk mentioned that-“

Zuko looked annoyed too. “Haruk? Are you still flirting with him?”

Katara raised an eyebrow. “I’m not flirting with him  _ and I wasn’t ever before. _ ” She sounded annoyed. 

“Why didn’t you want me to go see Azula with you?” 

Her mouth opened for a moment before she closed it. “I just wanted to go alone. Your mom asked me to-”

His jaw was tight. “I can’t believe you even went. It was too dangerous.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m fine. Nothing happened.-” He scoffed. “-Besides, you go see her all the time alone!”

His volume had risen a little higher. “She’s  _ my sister  _ and I’m  _ the Firelor _ -”

“And  _ I’m  _ the person who beat her in the final Agni Kai! Obviously, I can take her!” She cut him off, which was fair because he interrupted her before, but at that moment, he couldn’t stand it.

He straightened his back and moved an inch closer to her. “I know that. Obviously that’s not what I meant. Azula is really smart.” This fight really wasn’t helping with pushing away his state of arousal. This was a bad idea. He had known how sexy Katara could look when they were fighting since he was seventeen. It was too late to back down, though. He still had so much he wanted to say without a successful way to say it.

“‘ _ Obviously’? _ ” She was standing now. “It couldn’t have been too obvious if it was so easy to miss. And, Yes, Azula is smart. I’m smart too, or do you think I’m stupid?” She was at a volume that could almost be classified as shouting.

Zuko knew he was taking everything he was feeling out on her (besides sexual desire). His body and mind really wanted to act on the latter though. But if he made a move on her now, she’d hate him for it. “I know how Haruk looks at you.” He sneered.

Her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth opened into an ‘O’, but then it turned into a snarl.

“Why would you care? Aren’t you too busy spending time with your ex-girlfriend to notice?” She was seething. Her hands and arms were flailing around when she was speaking.

Zuko had no idea what she was talking about, but he wasn’t going to back down. “I’m not, but why would it matter to you if I was?” He wanted it to matter to her.

Katara scoffed and instead of answering his question said, “you’re heating up the water, it’s like you’re trying to boil us to death.”

“Well, I  _ am  _ a firebender! Or have you been too dense to realize that by now?” He snapped.

Katara let out a noise of anger. “I don’t know why you’re being such an asshole, but I don’t want it to ruin my night so I’m going to go. Have fun turning yourself into a human soup, or actually, let me help you with not doing that!” She froze all of the water in the pool around him and stomped away.

It really had close to no point since he was able to melt the ice with his own bending, but thankfully, it helped with his still throbbing erection.

Feeling confident in her appearance, Katara stepped into the ballroom. She was wearing a layered short sleeve blue formal Northern Water Tribe dress that was belted around the waist that Pakku had given her. The royal seamstress came by and altered the gown for the Fire Nation heat and she put her hair up in a bun with two beaded tendrils down in the front. Everyone else there was dressed to her level of formal attire. She was surprised to see how many people were already there for the Charity Ball and chatting with one another even though the event didn’t start for another ten minutes.

The people attending the charity ball were mostly higher-ranking citizens of the Fire Nation born into generational wealth, the ambassadors, and the people most involved with the creation of the hospital, as well as some others. There were enough people there to fill up the ballroom, but still have enough space for the long dining tables with white table cloths and dance floor.

Katara spotted Toph sitting below a chandelier at one of the tables alone drinking a glass of sparkling rice wine. Katara didn’t want to toot her own horn since she was the one who helped the blind girl get ready, but Toph looked really pretty with her hair all up, sporting her signature hairband and a short green traditional silk dress. She looked like the high ranking Earth Kingdom lady she was, even without shoes on.

“Want a sip?” Toph asked, holding out her glass toward Katara.

“Toph this is a formal event. Isn’t a little too early in the night to be drinking? Especially at your age?”

Toph waved her hand in the air, “keep your morals away from me, Sugar Queen.”

Katara rolled her eyes and laughed. “Thanks for the offer, but I should probably only meet with some of the guests.”

Toph took another sip, “alright, have fun. I’ll be here alone with my thoughts and this glass of good alcohol.”

It was easy to spot who were the rich upper-class citizens by how intricate their outfits were and how much jewelry they were wearing. Katara decided she wouldn’t start out the night talking with one of them since they were probably the people who helped pay for the war the most and still view her as a  _ ‘tent-dwelling water tribe peasant’ _ . But looking around, that might have been her only option. Thankfully, a kind younger man greeted her. “Hello, you must be the Waterbending Master and Ambassador, Katara.”

Katara smiled and shook the man’s hand in the traditional Fire Nation greeting Iroh taught her. “I am. What’s your name?”

He wore a kind and sincere smile on his face. “My name is Kei Lo, I’m, well, a friend of Mai’s. She invited me.”

Kei Lo was quite handsome, Katara had to admit. He had nice big brown eyes and brown hair was short on the sides and back, but long in the front. He was still clearly from the Fire Nation. 

“Well, thank you so much for coming to the charity ball for the hospital, we really appreciate it.”

“Of course. Mai wrote to me all about it. It’s a great idea.”

Katara couldn’t help but blush a little at the praise. “Thank you.” Something by the way that the boy was casually referring to Mai made Katara think maybe they were more than just casual friends.

In the conversation the two had, Katara learned he wasn’t much older than her, he lived in the same town of Mai’s aunt’s flower shop, and he was a fan of playing the tsungi horn. He was nice to talk to, it made sense to Katara why Mai and he were close.

The Fire Lord walked into the ballroom and everyone respectfully bowed. In the Fire Nation, it was customary that the Fire Lord, as well as the host of the evening, arrived exactly fifteen minutes late. He was wearing a red shirt with a high collar and royal armor detailing. Katara groaned in her head, thinking about the mark the collar was covering. Maybe she was lucky and his neck had miraculously healed overnight. His shoulders were less pointy but still prominent. The shirt tied at the waist with a darker red belt. He was wearing black pants with gold detailing and gold pointed shoes. All of his hair was in a top knot and sporting the Fire Lord hairpiece.

Zuko and Katara made eye contact for a second and then broke it apart. Despite it being almost twenty-four hours later, the fight at the royal hot springs still felt pretty blatant in her mind. She hadn’t seen him yet that day, mostly on purpose, because she spent most of the time excitedly to replying to the invite to Suki and Sokka’s wedding, having another lesson with Thala, and pretty much relaxing before helping Toph get ready for the ball and then getting ready for the ball herself.

Mai followed in behind quickly and headed to the front of the room to welcome all the guests and give a speech. Both Zuko and Katara took that as a cue to stand a little behind her and to the side.

“Hello everyone and thank you to all of you for attending this ball to raise money for such an important thing for our nation. Ambassador Katara will speak later into the evening, but first, I’d like to-“

Katara’s attention during the speech dipped in and out while Mai spoke. She looked really pretty. She was sporting her usual hairstyle and wore a long black dress with long wide sleeves and a long red overlaying vest over it, tied at the waist with a black sash. Katara wondered if she and Zuko purposefully matched with the black and red, but it looked like those colors were the ones that were primarily used in Fire Nation fashion, which made sense due to their limited color palette.

“-of course, to donate to our cause, all you will need to do is speak to me or Former General Iroh-“

Katara glanced over at Zuko. Things always seemed to be awkward around them lately with everything going on with the two of them. She wished they could completely redo the conversation they had the night before. First, she would ask what had put him into a bad mood and how she could help fix it. After that, she would tell him about meeting with Azula and reassure him that she was fine. Then she would bring up the whole cactus juice thing. Finally, she would ask about why he kissed her after they had tea with his hidden mother and what the meaning behind it was. Was she right thinking it was only a spur of the moment thing? She wanted to know before she let her feelings for him became embarrassingly obvious.

“Now, let's waste no more time and begin dancing and feasting.”

Everyone clapped and cheered and the beautiful melodic music began. People started dancing and eating as Mai suggested. Zuko was shaking hands with various aristocrats and Mai was talking to people as well. It looked like she was having a nice conversation with Kei Lo, telling by the fact that she looked to be actually genuinely smiling.

Katara started by eating dinner with Toph, and then had a conversation with Reyan and the sandbending ambassador. Katara felt embarrassed she still wasn’t able to remember his name. She was also asked to dance three or four times. Despite not knowing how to dance, she didn’t want to be impolite so she always agreed. One of those times, much to her dismay, was with Haruk.

“It’s nice having someone else here wearing blue,” Katara said, attempting a normal conversation. He’s been hitting on her- if you could even call it that- less often as of late, and she was hoping it would continue that night.

“Yeah. All this red is a little smothering.” They swayed in time to the music, Haruk tried to pull her body closer to his a couple of times, but she unshakably kept the distance so they were at least the length of a scroll apart.

“I agree… or at least it can be.” There was a lag in the conversation in which neither of them said anything. They listened to the music and the sound of people chatting.

Katara looked over her right shoulder and observed as Mai was having a conversation with Aiguo who appeared to be leaving early and Zuko was talking with a young woman and dancing with her. Haruk followed Katara’s line of sight and in the distraction, accidentally stepped on her foot.

“Oh shit, sorry.” Haruk quickly apologized.

“It’s okay, it didn’t hurt that badly,” Katara assured.

Haruk nodded. “Okay, that’s good” He turned his focus back to the Fire Lord.

“I’ve always wondered how he got such a nasty scar. Do you know?” He asked.

Katara bit her lip. “Yes, but I’d rather not say. It’s a really personal story.”

Haruk didn’t respond. Instead, he said, “It really does look terrible, doesn’t it?”

Katara frowned and with her eyebrows furrowed together, glanced at Zuko again. “I don’t think so, I think that he wears it with honor and that it’s actually really flattering on his face.” It also made him look sexy, but she would never tell that to Haruk.

When the song ended, everyone clapped and Katara went to the front of the room to give the speech Mai had requested her to write and give. Unsure of how to get everyone’s attention, she rang a metal spoon against a glass cup a couple of times lightly and it seemed to do the trick. She’s never been one for public speaking, really. But she knew she couldn’t just duck out and avoid it.

“Hello, everyone. I hope you all are having a good time.” She locked eyes with multiple people, most of which nodded encouragingly. Mai’s eyes seemed to be glazed over and out of focus. “I am so thankful to everyone for your donations and support for this idea. We intend, the Fire Lord and I, to make it more than just a place where citizens of the Fire Nation who may be unable to pay for healthcare completely, but to also have it become a school in which healers from the different nations can come together to learn and teach about different ways to perform medical care. I-“

There was a shriek and in a sequence that happened so quickly that it was almost too fast to catch it all, a throwing knife glided through the air and was caught by Reyan with her fan to prevent the weapon from hitting Katara right in the middle of her chest.

Katara felt so thankful that Reyan had such quick reflexes and was standing towards the front. She wasn’t so lucky about the next knife, though, as it sliced the side of Katara's shoulder and then got wedged into the wall behind her. She scanned the room to see where the knives were coming from and saw just in time to see Mai, with her eyes still glazed over, having her arm pulled behind her and the next knife ripped out of her hand by Zuko and Toph. Mai’s face was expressionless, which really wasn’t too unusual for her, as she struggled against Zuko.

“Mai, what in Agni’s name are you doing?” Zuko sounded a little bit frantic when he asked.

Mai didn’t answer, she just kept struggling.

Everyone else at the ball watched the exchange playing out before them. Some in fear, some in curiosity and confusion, but most watched in pure shock.

“Wait, something is wrong. She’s acting weird.” Kei Lo pushed through the crowd and waved a hand in front of Mai’s face to prove his point. She didn’t even blink and went back to standing still like she did during Katara’s speech and kept her eyes on Katara and kept up her expressionless face. With one hand, he touched Mai’s face on her cheek and with the other hand on her shoulder and tapped her gently but purposefully and at the same time gave her a slight shake. “Mai. Mai!  _ Snap out of it _ !”

Mai dizzily seemed to regain consciousness at the sound of Kei Lo calling out for her. Her eyes left Katara and moved to lock with Kei Lo’s for a moment before rolling back into her head.

Katara didn’t bother worrying about her shoulder at the moment and ran over to Mai to get a better inspection of what was happening. She pushed through the crowd that was gathering around the four in time to witness grabbing her head with her hands and dropping to her knees in pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual tension and formal clothing and cliffhangers, Oh my!
> 
> Man, I love cliffhangers. Heehee.
> 
> I added a mood board for the hot springs scene and the charity ball to my Pinterest board. You should check them out, especially if you want to see some of the inspiration behind the outfits people the charity ball were wearing. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Check out my Tumblr sometime. I occasionally post a sneak peek or two to future chapters and I love responding to messages people leave me in my asks. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Chapter twelve will be out next Tuesday (5/19). Stay safe!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains violence and explicit sexual content.

“Uncle!” Zuko called out to Iroh.

Iroh pushed to the front of the crowd, “Nephew?”

Zuko grabbed his uncle’s arm and stepped closer to him. He whispered into his ear and asked him to take over the ball and reassure the guests that everything was okay while he went and took care of the situation in another room. Iroh agreed and pulled the guests’ attention away with his natural charm, while Zuko led the group to a small meeting room with royal guards standing outside.

It was Zuko leading the way and Toph following closely. Kei Lo helped support Mai as they followed too. Katara trailed in the back.

Zuko held the door open for everyone to enter the room and when Katara went through, she noticed his eyes searching her up and down before resting for a moment on the scratch on her arm. Then he looked up and met her eyes, and then looked away. Katara was getting tired of him doing that.

Kei Lo and Mai sat in the crimson seating chairs while the rest stayed standing. Mai had her elbows on her knees and was still holding on to her head in pain. And when she said, “I apologize, Katara. I promise I wasn’t in my right mind,” Katara realized she had never seen the woman so vulnerable before.

“What do you mean?” Asked Zuko, sounding suspicious.

She lifted her head and met his eyes. “It didn’t feel like my mind was in my jurisdiction. I wasn’t consciously making those actions.” She rested her hands in her lap and crossed her feet at the ankles, despite the obvious strain that was still on her body.

“She’s telling the truth.” Toph loudly spoke. Her arms were crossed and she was leaning on one leg.

“How does your head feel now?” Asked Kei Lo, He had one of his hands resting on her shoulder.

“Better. I’m myself again,” She assured with a nod, “I still have a headache.” She turned her attention back to Zuko, and mostly Katara. “The attack. My brain must have been tampered with. When throwing the knives at you, it was like my own thoughts were pushed to the side and I was only witnessing what was happening.”

“She’s telling the truth,” Toph said.

“Do you have any idea of who did this to you and why?” Katara asked, stepping closer to her.

“If I knew, I would’ve said and I think their intentions were clearly to try and kill you.”

At her words, Katara seized approaching the woman, and stepped back to where she was standing beside the wall.

“ _ Hey. _ ” Zuko warned Mai.

Mai sighed. “All I’ve done today was stay in my room writing and responding to letters from Ty Lee and meet with Dr. Aiguo before getting ready for the ball.”

“Why have you been meeting with the psychologist?” Asked Zuko, still suspicious, probably thinking in his mind that the two were conspiring against Katara. He should be able to trust Mai, but the relationship was rocky. Katara knows he’s seen her evil and vindictive side before and it wasn’t pretty.

Mai’s eyebrow twitched. “To deal with feelings I’ve been experiencing with insecurity, not that it’s your business.”

“Toph?” Zuko asked.

“She’s not lying, but she’s not telling all of the truth either.”

Zuko’s expression grew darker and more irritated and Mai let out a deep sigh. “He approached me first. I rejected, saying I was fine, but then I started dealing with jealousy towards Katara.” 

Katara’s eyebrows raised and her mouth dropped open for a moment before she closed it. Kei Lo shifted in his seat, but still kept his hand on Mai’s shoulder.

“Not because of our previous relationship, Zuko. But because it seemed so easy for her to begin a relationship with you when I was struggling to try and kickstart a relationship of my own. Also because I was living in the palace, far away from the person I was romantically involved with. I thought of talking to Katara about these feelings and maybe even asking for advice, but I didn’t feel confident to do so,” her eyes glanced at Kei Lo for a second, “My jealousy turned into insecurity that maybe I was doing something wrong. That’s when the anxiety I dealt with when I was younger reappeared and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to seek medical help.” Mai’s eyes were unable to meet Katara’s and all Katara felt was sympathy.

Katara watched Zuko’s face as it fell from the tight angry expression into one of guilt.

“She’s telling the truth.”

“I know.” Said Zuko, “I can tell.”

Kei Lo’s hand dropped from Mai’s shoulder and he squeezed her hand. Mai continued, looking calm and collected as she did so. “I don’t know if it was Dr. Aiguo who tampered with my brain, but he does seem to be the most likely suspect.” She gripped her head again and groaned at the pain.

Katara spoke up and rushed to Mai’s side. “There is something I could do that would also help with your headache. I’ve done it only once before but it could give us the answers we need.”

“Are you talking about what you did with Jet?” Toph asked.

“Yeah,” Katara responded.

“Go ahead,” Mai permissed without even knowing what it was.

Katara took action and pulled water out of the flower vase on the table beside the chairs. She placed her hands with the glowing water on Mai’s temples and the other woman closed her eyes and let the water bender heal her. The scene played out right in front of Katara in the same way it did when she was healing Jet. 

_ The psychologist sat across from Mai in what Katara assumed was his bedroom. In between them on the table was a rotating oil lamp, it was a much smaller version of the one that was used to hypnotize Jet. _

_ Aiguo spoke in a deep voice. “Tonight, Lady Mai, you will attack Katara with your throwing knives when she gives her speech. And you will kill her.” _

_ “I will attack Katara,” Mai repeated in her tranced state, much like the one Katara witnessed earlier during the ball. _

_ “You will keep Katara and all the guests from the basement.” Aiguo chanted to Mai. _

_ “I will keep Katara and all the guests from the basement,” Mai repeated. _

Katara finished her ministrations and turned to Zuko and spoke in a quick and authoritative voice. “Aiguo has been hypnotizing you. It’s the same way they did it to Jet.” She turned to Toph, “Toph, go back to the ball, if he’s been mind-controlling Mai, then he’s most likely been mind-controlling Haruk and his other patients too.”

“Got it.” Toph rushed out of the room quickly, following Katara’s command.

Mai, don’t go back to the ballroom. It’s best you go right back to your room. Kei Lo, go with her, her mind might be a little weak after the tampering.”

They nodded. “We will.” Replied Kei Lo.

Katara turned to Zuko again, even though she already knew the answer, “What’s in the basement?”

Zuko looked confused, “Besides the tunnels? There’s-” He turned pale. “Azula.”

Katara didn’t wait for anything else and ran at full speed down to the dungeon. She pulled off her shoes to make the trip faster and comfortable through the long halls of the Fire Nation palace with the marble flooring that felt cool to the touch of her feet. It was only when she realized she didn’t remember how to get down there since last time she was directed by Zuko through the crawl space passages in his room, that she realized Zuko followed her. He looked angry with her.

“Katara, you can't keep running off into dangerous situations by yourself! You’re not invincible!” He was now leading them to the proper way down. Katara was surprised she was able to keep pace with him.

“Zuko, this is important! If I don’t act fast, people will get hurt!”

“ _ You  _ could get hurt. You were almost killed.”

“Mai couldn’t take me,” Katara said, sounding insulted.

“Maybe not, but it’s obvious  _ mind-controlled _ Mai wasn’t the only person trying to kill you.”

When they passed the entrance to the dungeon, all the guards that were there at all times were missing. Zuko handed Katara her water skin, which he must have grabbed before chasing after her, and Katara picked up the running pace to be a little faster.

Katara tripped a little while running down the long staircase descending down to the prison cells below the palace, but Zuko quickly caught her and they continued their fast steps, skipping a stair-step each step they took.

“I was an idiot. I hired him to help Azula.”

“Zuko, you didn’t know,” Katara reassured. “You were just looking out for your sister and he took advantage of that.” She was panting slightly as she spoke. She should have paced herself better as she ran.

They arrived to quietly witness Aiguo hypnotizing Azula outside of her cell while she was drinking what Katara assumed, from personal experience, was a cactus juice and alcohol concoction.

“You will follow me to your new location,” The psychologist spoke.

“I will follow you to my new location,” Azula chanted back.

Katara took action. She undid her water skin and used it to freeze Aiguo’s hands and wrists to the cold stone prison wall, as well as Azula, even though she was in a mind numb state. Aiguo had shock written on his face when Zuko and Katara walked out into the yellow lamplight, but it turned into an evil grin. “Fire Lord and Ambassador Katara. Shouldn’t you be back at the ball?”

“We know what you have been doing,” Katara said. She made sure her stance displayed her confidence and determination. She let her face show her anger.

“Oh, you do, do you?” He was taunting her. 

“You have been brainwashing Azula, you hypnotized Mai into attempting to assassinate me, and you fed me that alcohol and cactus juice concoction. You were trying to manipulate my mind, but you failed and your plan failed again tonight.” She lifted her chin up at him.

“Oh, really?” Aiguo’s eyebrows grew closer together and his grin grew bigger.  _ “Azula, attack.” _

Azula followed his words like a puppet. She melted the ice around her wrists and sent a flame rope Katara’s way. Zuko blocked it for her with a kick. As Azula kept attacking, Aiguo melted the ice around his wrists much as Azula had.

Zuko and Katara looked at each other in a quick moment of panic. Neither of them seemed to be aware he was a firebender. His bending skills seemed to be pretty basic, but it was still the curveball thrown at the Fire Lord and the waterbender.

The battle went back and forth. Katara and Zuko were back to back while Azula faced Zuko and the psychologist faced Katara. Katara was running out of the water, everything she sent his way evaporated into steam around them and then into the air completely. She used everyone’s sweat, but soon she began to somehow run out of that too.

Zuko was knocked to the ground with a grunt and Katara tripped over him. Her fancy dress was hard to maneuver in, so when she tried to get back up, she tripped and fell back down again, the action giving the fabric a rip. Zuko was using his feet to firebend against Azula. When Katara got hit and burned by a particularly strong fire blast, Katara let out a pained high pitched shriek. Zuko turned to see what was wrong and saw the large burn on Katara’s left arm, and at that moment, Azula grabbed the Fire Lord’s hair, kicked his knees out, and smashed his face into the concrete floor. 

The two opponents were standing above them and appeared to be in the win, but Katara couldn’t let that happen. She looked at Zuko, who was now bloody and smashed against the floor and up into Aiguo’s empty eyes and unnerving smile. Just as she raised her arm to bloodbend, a group of guards marched down quickly to the cell hallway and pulled Azula and Aiguo off and away from them and handcuffed the two, holding them away so they were unable to attack.

From the floor, Katara took the new sweat from the guards’ faces and froze the captive’s arms in place. She was still breathing heavily from the adrenaline. Zuko pushed himself off the floor.

Following the guards was Advisor Zahr. “Are you alright, Fire Lord? I saw what took place at the ball and when I heard you ran down here, I sent for some of the royal guards to help in case something was wrong.”

“Yes, we’re fine,” Zuko responded while helping Katara up from the floor. “Thank you for getting the guards.”

Behind them, the guards were questioning Aiguo. One Katara recognized from when she visited Azula before spoke to Zuko, “What happened here, Fire Lord Zuko?”

“Aiguo was trying to release Azula. The attack upstairs was a distraction from down here and to take out the only person to beat my sister. I’m assuming he’s either an Azula and Ozai supporter. Could be both.”

“That makes sense.” Supplied Advisor Zahr. “After you left, Ambassador Haruk, as well as a few of Dr. Aiguo’s other patients, also entered a hypnotic state.”

“What happened? Is everything okay now?” Katara asked.

“Unfortunately the ballroom is now in shambles.” Katara heard Zuko sigh from beside her and she turned and watched him pinch the bridge of his nose. “Former General Iroh escorted all of the guests out while Ms. Beifong and the other ambassadors helped cease their attacks and return the attackers into their right mind.”

Zuko nodded and turned to the guards, who were now placing Azula back in her cell, who was no longer under the influence of hypnotism, but just acting loopy and appeared to be drained. Katara could relate. “Send Aiguo to the Boiling Rock, first thing tomorrow he’ll be questioned. Tonight he will use the gated cell farthest from the one holding Princess Azula and inform five of my guards on the night shift to guard the outside of it.”

The guards nodded and stomped the psychologist off and to his cell.

“Fire Lord Zuko, is there anything else I can assist you with?” Advisor Zahr asked.

“No thank you. It’s late. You should call it a night.”

The advisor pursed his lips and nodded and left Zuko and Katara alone in the dark dungeon hall.

“Well, it’s safe to say the ball is over,” Katara said, cracking a smile.

“Yeah,” Zuko said, exasperated and not really amused.

“Here, let’s go heal our injuries, shall we?” She placed her hand on his arm and dragged him away. By the way that Zuko walked beside her, it was clear his knee must be bothering him. They were both hurt but didn’t say anything as they walked.

The pair successfully sneaked to the Fire Lord’s room without being seen by anyone. They were thankful because if anyone saw their ripped clothes, bruises, and scratches, their imagination would run wild. And they were too tired to have the news of Azula almost being released getting leaked.

They really were quite the eyesore. Almost all of Katara’s hair was out of its arrangement, her dress was ripped on the side near her feet, she still had the scratch on her upper arm from Mai to still fix, and undoubtedly there were dark bruises forming on her knees. Not to mention the nasty burn mark on her other arm that wouldn’t stop burning.

Zuko had a rip in his shirt on the front, his hair was falling out of its top knot in strands. His nose was bleeding and there was some bruising and swelling right by his scar.

Katara had healed herself quickly- and kind of mediocrely- and decided to just let her wavy brown hair down completely, only leaving in the two blue beads in the front. Zuko followed suit and let his shaggy dark hair down. A couple of strands fell into his face, so he moved them.

Zuko was sitting at the edge of his large bed on top of the burgundy bedspread. Katara was standing in front of him, knees bent, tending to his wounds. There was silence and the awkwardness had crept back in between them and the act of healing and getting healed feeling intimate didn’t help.

Katara started by tending to a bruise on his elbow. She attempted a break at the silence and to dissolve the tension. “Crazy what happened, right?”

“Yeah.” Zuko sighed and his chin dropped lower. “I should have seen it coming. I was the one who said we should hire him. Then I gave him free access to Azula whenever he wanted.” He was looking down into his lap and his hand was on his face covering his eyes.

Katara paused on her work. She rested her hand on Zuko’s shoulder in comfort. “Zuko, this isn’t your fault. I promise. You didn’t know what Aiguo was planning. No one did. What matters is that we stopped it.”

Zuko put his hand back down and nodded. “You’re right.” His mouth was still pulled into a thin line.

Katara continued her healing work, moving up to the bruising and cut on his chest through the rip in his shirt. “Thank you for following me and fighting beside me. I wouldn’t have been able to beat Azula and him all by myself.”

Zuko gave a faint smile as Katara continued. “And thank you for putting my hospital idea into action. I’m really excited about it. And all of this work with it and being an ambassador has helped with distracting me from being homesick.”

“Your idea was genius, I’m so thankful for it and that you were into helping to improve the Fire Nation. I’m glad you’re here.” Zuko said.

“I’m glad I’m here too,” Katara responded.

They were smiling at each other. Both had the faintest of blushes. Katara finished the work on his shoulder and began to work on the bruise on his face, she already washed the blood from his nose away. When she finished, she continued gently touching his scar. They kept up eye contact. Katara felt warm that he wasn’t looking away from her like he always did.

“Katara, I really like you.” It was only when Katara stilled her hand and raised her eyebrows did Zuko realize he said that out loud. He gulped, “as, um, as more than a friend. I  _ really  _ like you.”

They kept looking at each other, glancing back and forth between each of their eyes. Zuko felt his face get even hotter. The words settled in Katara’s brain. 

She leaned forward and kissed him. It was soft and sweet and lasted only two seconds. When she pulled away, Zuko looked up at her with wide eyes. “I like you too.  _ Really  _ like you. A lot. I think I have for a little while.”

He smiled with the wildest grin, grabbed her face, and pulled her into another kiss. His touch on her face was so light that you’d think she wouldn’t have been able to feel it, but to her, it was like fire. There was still adrenaline from all of the nights’ events pumping through them. That mixed with their combined confessions made them feel like the world around them was buzzing.

He pulled her back in for another kiss, which turned into another kiss, and even more kissing, and one that was so intense it made her writhe. Her teeth grazed his lower lip and he gasped. She reveled in the taste of his soft lips. They tasted so nice and masculine and like the punch, he must have drank at the ball.

He kissed each side of her mouth at the corners. He licked her lower lip and she opened her mouth so he could press his tongue against hers. She hummed, making an interesting vibration in her mouth. Their kissing sent fire running through both of their bodies like hot lava.

Her left hand was on his shoulder and her right hand was playing with the hair behind his head. His hands were stroking up and down the light fabric of the dress on her back. They rested on the swell of her hips before moving behind and settling on her butt and giving it a light squeeze. 

Katara’s breath grew heavier and she softly moaned into his ear. It made Zuko ecstatic. He kissed up her neck and smiled her hair at the nape of her neck. She smelled like vanilla and seawater. His mouth returned to her throat and he lightly tugged some of the skin there in between his teeth and bit down. Not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough for her breathing to hitch and for her to cry out. He sucked on the spot and moved to a new spot and repeated the action, this time closer to her collar bones right above her neckline. 

Katara took action and went from leaning over to sitting in his lap, each leg on either side of his waist, the tear in her long dress rode up a bit so that she could do so. She pulled him back into a kiss, this time not hesitating to be the one to assert her tongue first. Zuko’s grip loosened from her hips and snaked to the front above her navel and then just a little higher and his thumbs played with her peaked nipples, now visible through both her wrappings and the dress. Katara inhaled sharply and she felt the junction between her thighs getting even wetter and warmer. His whole hands cupped her breasts and then kneaded them back and forth between harder and more gently.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and when she felt his hot and hard risen arousal, she ground forward and her chest heaved in his hands. The feeling of the friction felt so good. Katara got off him and his eyes snapped open, now suddenly worried. 

“It’s everything okay? Is this too much?” It was hard for Zuko to speak since the only thing he could hear in his ears was his own loud and erratic heartbeat.

She smiled at him and bent forward like the way she previously had been. “It’s not too much, this is just in the way.” She undid the tie around his shirt and the clasp at the neck and pulled the fabric away. Zuko assisted her by releasing his arms from the sleeves. Katara’s vision was rose-tinted and there was heat on both of their faces and intensity in their eyes.

Katara crawled back into the firebender’s lap and when Katara’s lower lips made the perfect friction against Zuko’s bulge, they both hissed. He gripped her hips even harder and bit at the lower part of her neck where it connected with her shoulder and she continued grinding her hips back and forth and then side to side. He knew if her hips continued their delicious movement for even a second more, he would reach his peak, so he lifted her hips and flipped them so she was laying with her back on her bed and him above her, their legs bent and their feet still off the sides.

Zuko gave Katara a peck on the lips and traveled his lips down, kissing about every inch of her body that was visible. She discovered the inside of her ankle and the back of her knee were quite the erogenous areas. That or Zuko’s lips were pure magic. Maybe both. He started kissing up the inside of her right thigh. Katara realized where he was headed and nervously pulled his head up and stroked the part of his cheek right under her scar. “Z-Zuko. You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.” She was biting her lip.

Zuko looked right into her blown wide pupils and smirked. “Trust me, I want to.” His confidence faltered for a moment. “Do you not want me to?”

She shook her head, “No, I do.”

He nodded with a grin and went back down. He pulled her dress up to her thighs and pulled down her under wrappings off of her legs, but left the rest on. Katara put her head back and willed herself to relax and not get too nervous. Zuko went to the knee he wasn’t at before and once again began slowly creeping up her leg with his mouth. He gave her an array of little kisses, pecks, licks, and small bites on her skin. With the type of attention that he was giving all of her thighs, including her stretch marks, she didn’t feel as insecure about them as she expected to be. 

The aromatic smell of her arousal made Zuko’s already hazy mind even cloudier in the most heavenly way.

When his mouth got to her center, her strong toned tan legs wrapped around him to his back and her thighs were on his shoulders. He was on his knees on the ground and she felt like it was as though he was washing her and she loved it. Her dark curly pubic hair was short and trim and her thick outer lips were so wet. He took a moment to admire the look of her pussy with her legs spread wide so he could see everything. He hadn’t even tasted her there yet and she was already shaking.

Katara knew what this was. She had never experienced it but had always been curious about it since she was fourteen years old and Suki described it to her. When she was first told about it, she thought it was gross and embarrassing, but when she began to explore her body, she began to fantasize about how amazing it would feel.

He started by giving a slow and sweet kiss to her labia. He moved on to firmly using his younger to separate her outer vaginal lips and then her inner ones. He went back and forth and his eyes rolled back at the sweet taste of her.

_ “Yesssss.”  _ She whispered and continued panting.

Zuko smiled and moved his tongue up and traced around her clitoris without touching it. The feel of his hot breath was driving her absolutely wild. It seemed to be even better than Suki described to her. Katara was praying with gratitude to all the spirits for Zuko’s mouth. When he tongued her bundle of nerves and then put his lips around it and sucked, she moaned so loudly that she covered her mouth with her hand and then bit it.

Zuko had a feeling this was her first time experiencing oral sex, so he wanted to make it unforgettable. Agni forbid she ever did this with another man, he wanted her to always think about how he did it better. It was a selfish and possessive way of thinking, but at that moment, it was what he truly felt. He kept his lips slow, hypothesizing that both of their arousals were like their temperament. He could get aroused like fire, turning on and off quickly and not taking long to climax. Her arousal was like water needing time to heat up before getting to the point of boiling. He patiently continued licking and sipping at her folds. 

When he went back to sucking on her clit and gently nibbling it, he entered his right pointer finger into her vaginal cavity, she came undone and her body shook like she was seizing. The look on her face was so sexy and Zuko replaced his mouth on her clit with his thumb so that he could watch it. He pumped his finger as she rode her orgasm and even biting her hand couldn’t stop her loud moan from pouring out. Zuko beamed with pride.

When Katara came down from her high, she took a few deep breaths with her eyes still closed and then opened them and sat up. Zuko was still kneeling and smiling at her and she smiled back with a blush she was sure was an even deeper red than his bed covers. He pulled his finger out of her and with his eyes still on her and his smile now turned into a smirk, he lifted the finger to his lips and sucked on it, removing her juice from the digit. He made a small hum to signal to her he loved the taste. 

Her eyes widened and she grabbed his chin with both hands and pulled his face up to meet hers and kissed him with everything she had. 

Katara took a deep breath,”Do you want to, um-“ She was looking at the rather large tent at his pelvis.

“Only if you want to,” Zuko responded, caressing her face. “I’m okay with waiting.”

She nodded and then looked away from him and spoke. “I’ve never done this before. Any of it.” She knew Zuko wouldn’t laugh at her, but she still felt nervous telling him.

“That’s okay. We can stop here if you want.” He gave her a reassuring kiss on her cheek.

She turned her head and turned it into a kiss on his lips, “I want to keep going. Do you want to?”

Zuko gulped at her words. “Y-yeah.”

She smiled with a hint of mischievousness and stood up and slowly slid her dress off of her body. Zuko watched her with an intense gaze and recounted in his head how this was the best day of his entire life. She stepped closer to him and sitting on the bed similar to the position they were in when she was healing him, he helped her to remove her breast wrappings, her mother’s necklace now the only thing left on her body. When the white fabric fell to the floor, he pulled one of her dusky brown nipples into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue like he had done with her clit, his eyes looking up into hers as he did so. She cried out and pulled him up and started pulling his pants and under-coverings off him.

Zuko stepped out of his pants and Katara observed his erect veiny member. She had seen plenty of male genitalia before, being a healer and all, but she had never seen it in such a state of arousal and she had never touched it before, Her curiosity took over her and she asked to do so.

“Y-yeah. Go ahead.” Zuko said. He tried his absolute hardest to keep himself together when her soft smooth hands wrapped around him.

Katara observed that the skin was a lot silkier than she imagined. Her thumb touched the tip, lightly touching at the precum, and he grunted and put his forehead against her shoulder and breathed into her hair.

“Katara?” He asked.

She hummed, now playing with his testicles.

His eyes were gripped tight. “This feels so good, but I won't be able to stop myself from coming too quickly if you continue.” He finished his statement with a kiss on her neck and she nodded.

Katara laid down on her back on the bed and Zuko crawled on top of her between her legs and kissed her forehead. His strong muscular arms were on each side of her head.

“You ready?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah,” Katara responded with a smile.

“It might hurt,” Zuko warned her, concern heavy in his voice.

“I know.” She said while caressing his scar. ”It’s okay.”

“If it hurts too much, tell me and we’ll stop.”

She nodded and gave him the go-ahead to continue. He aligned his manhood up against her slick wet folds and kissed her as hard as he could as he entered her as slowly as he could muster. To the firebender, it felt like the purest form of ecstasy. He closed his eyes and grunted as he entered her a little more and felt her tightness squeezing around him. To the waterbender, it stung a bit, but it didn’t hurt as much as she worried it would, most likely thanks to Zuko’s ministrations on her womanhood earlier.

When he had finally sunk into her all the way, he looked at her. “Are-are you okay?”

She could see him clenching his jaw and knew he was holding back for her. It was respectful and endearing. “Yeah, I’m good. JUST give me a second to adjust.” She shifted a little bit, and when she clenched around him, he groaned and his face went into her shoulder. She got to the point where she wanted more and began to squirm. “You can- you can move.”

Zuko followed her suggestion and began to slowly thrust in and out of her. Katara pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and moaned. “Zuko, that feels so good.  _ More _ .” 

He sped up and she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms tighter around his neck. Her heels and her nails dug into his back in the most delicious way. When he hit the perfect spot he was looking for, her eyes rolled back into her head. He took note of the angle and hit that same spot repeatedly, faster and harder each time. Over the sounds of his own panting and groaning, he could hear Katara moaning his name over and over again and it was the most beautiful thing his ears have ever heard.

Zuko was determined to not come too quickly. He wanted to make sure Katara came and wasn’t left disappointed with the experience. He reached his hand down between them and rubbed at her clit with his thumb and the fireworks went off inside of her head. Katara felt such nice built up pleasure so much that her eyes watered and she was pretty sure she might have actually screamed, still so sensitive from the first orgasm Zuko gave her. Zuko’s own release was right after hers, and the look on his face Katara viewed as a heavenly sight.

When they both came down from their high, Katara grabbed his chin with one hand and kissed him.

“Stay with me here tonight?” Zuko asked, removing himself from being inside of her.

Katara smiled, “Of course.”

The two laid down and looked into each other's eyes, getting sleepier and sleepier. Zuko played with Katara’s hair, but his hand eventually stilled as the pair fell into a deep sleep, their legs and arms tangled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part one has been completed! YAY!
> 
> FUN FACT: the sex scene alone was just as long as some of the previous chapters in this story were. Oops.
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board, go check it out. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> I post updates and teasers on Tumblr. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thank you so much everyone for sticking with the story so far! I promise it will only get more exciting from here! The next chapter will be out next Tuesday!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, you have no idea how sorry I am for this chapter being so late! I've been super busy with work for my classes and then Tuesday was my mother's birthday so this fic has been the last thing on my mind and I'm super sorry for that.

“I think it should represent a strong piece of Fire Nation history.” One advisor said. 

Iroh responded, “Maybe we should focus on finding a name that encapsulates more than just the Fire Nation since Ambassador Katara is the head of it and came up with the idea. It will also include healing practices of each of the four nations and staff members and healers from the three, not just the Fire Nation.”

Katara opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by all of the advisors arguing over Iroh’s suggestion.

Zuko rolled his eyes, closed them, took a deep breath, and mentally counted to three. The meeting that he was currently in was set to decide what the new hospital would be named. It was something that they probably should have decided on much earlier in the process of creating it, but he and Katara were both unintentionally putting it off. The meeting was originally going to be between each of the heads in the hospital’s manufacturing, but Zuko’s royal advisors felt that it was their place to help the decision and threw a fit.

The meeting started with Zuko’s newest advisor suggesting that the hospital should be named ‘Fire Fountain City Hospital’ since that’s where the location is, but Advisor Zahr disagreed and said that that name would be no good.

While people argued, Zuko glanced at Katara multiple times, and when they made eye contact, Katara would smile. It made Zuko smile back and a faint blush appear on his face.

At one point, Katara even let out a quiet giggle, which absolutely delighted Zuko. Although they haven’t told anyone besides the people closest to them at the palace, (who happened to also be the most observant), the fire and waterbender were officially together in a relationship, since the morning after the ball three days prior.

_ Unsurprisingly, Zuko was the first to wake up when the sun had shone through the window. His eyelids opened and closed a couple of times before his vision adjusted to the bright light. His body was behind Katara’s, he closely-held her back to his front, and his arms were circled around her sleeping naked form underneath the blanket. _

_ Thinking about what took place between them last night before they fell asleep, Zuko smiled. He knew that not everyone’s first time having sex was good (his included), but he really hoped that Katara considered hers to be at least okay. Zuko certainly thought what transpired between them was really good and amazing, so it must have been better than the average person’s first time. Or maybe he was just projecting. He needed to distract himself from worrying about that before he got frustrated. _

_ Katara’s facial expression while sleeping was so calm. She looked like she was having a nice dreamless sleep. Zuko leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently. He didn’t intend to wake the sleeping girl up, but nonetheless, Katara’s eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at him, and since his face was still so close to hers, she kissed him. It was a soft and sweet kiss and she somehow made Zuko feel better without even being aware of his internal struggle. _

_ “Good morning,” Katara whispered with a yawn. _

_ “Good morning,” Zuko responded in a soft voice that mirrored hers. “Was, um, was last night okay?”  _

_ She put her hand on his unscarred cheek. “Last night was great.” _

_ He kissed her again and when they released from each other, Katara playfully nipped at his collar bone. She seemed to love giving him hickeys, which was great because Zuko loved receiving them.“I should probably heal these.” She said, referring to the marks that they both had on their necks. “I don’t want any remarks from Toph or anyone else.” _

_ Zuko reluctantly agreed and she got to work. Thankfully, she ignored his morning wood. Zuko knew he had no reason to be embarrassed, especially since they had sex the night before, but still. If it was up to Zuko, they would have spent the whole day in bed. Responsibilities of being the Fire Lord be damned. _

_ Katara sat up and gave a little wince. Zuko noticed it right away. “Are you okay?” He gave up whispering and spoke at a normal volume. _

_ “Yeah,” Katara assured him, “I’m just a little sore, but I can easily heal myself.” _

_ As concerned that he was that Katara was sore, he couldn't help the tinge of pride that came with him knowing that he was the one that made her sore the night before. As Katara was getting dressed, Zuko realized that he hadn’t defined with her what they were exactly. He swallowed his nerves and spoke.“Katara.” _

_ She looked up from rewrapping her upper bindings. “Hmm?” _

_ “Will you be my girlfriend? We don’t have to tell the public yet or anything, we can have it be between us. Except I should probably tell Uncle. And there’s no way that it would get past Toph…” _

_ She smiled brightly and kissed him again. “Zuko, duh.” _

_ They kissed again. And again. And then they did a little more. They were late for breakfast and Toph clearly knew what was up as soon as they walked in. _

“From what I assume, the hospital patients will mostly be citizens of the Fire Nation, so I find it best to keep the name within that area to not upset the radical higher class citizens who are opposed to the new health care tax plan. It’s best to not add flames to the fire.” The new hospital financial booster spoke.

Zuko and Katara hired him for the position the day before, after an extreme background check. He was never going to ever make the mistake of doing a light one ever again. He was also reviewing the work that Mai did, who left the day after the ball to go back to work at her aunt’s flower shop. Zuko didn't mind her requesting to leave earlier than originally asked, since all of her financial work had been processed, and she was only supposed to. be there temporarily anyway. When he noticed Mai holding hands with Kei Lo on the way out, he smiled. He was happy that his ex-girlfriend, but still close friend, was able to let herself be happy.

Katara quickly chased after Mai and gave her a hug on her way out. Mai’s eyebrows were raised high but lowered as she settled into a smile and hugged the Southern Water Tribe woman back. Katara made her promise that they would write one another and then allowed her and Kei Lo to take their leave.

“What if we named it after Fire Nation lore?” Asked another advisor, “like, I don’t know- the Painted Lady or something like that?”

The advisor from earlier scoffed. “Instead of naming it after a brave male soldier, you want to name it after some  _ mythical fairytale woman? _ ”

Katara opened her eyes and lifted her hand from where she was rubbing her forehead. “The Painted Lady isn’t a myth, she's a spirit. I’ve met her.”

All the heads turned to her. “ _ You  _ met her? How? When?”

Katara straightened her back and then answered his question. “When I was traveling with Aang and teaching him waterbending during the end of the war before Zuko joined our group.” She gestured to the Fire Lord sitting near her. She glanced at Zuko who was smiling, already knew this story. “We, Aang, Toph, my brother, and I, disguised ourselves as Fire Nation citizens and visited Jang Hui. While I was there, I saw how sick the citizens were and dressed up as the Painted Lady each night and helped heal them. Then, before we left, the Painted Lady’s spirit came to me and thanked me.”

“That was you?” The new hospital head of finances asked.

Another advisor looked both enraged and appalled. “You blew up one of the top-grossing factories in the Fire Nation!”

Katara crossed her arms and wrinkled her face in the same angry way that his was and met his eye and spoke. “One that was polluting your land and hurting your people!”

The advisor opened his mouth, but Zuko spoke first. “The Fire Nation is very thankful for what Katara did and is doing, to help our citizens. I think that naming the hospital after the Painted Lady would be a great idea.” Zuko originally didn't really care what the hospital would be named, but now that the meaning could be tied to something important to Katara and an important thing that she did for his nation, he was on board.

“I agree.” Katara beamed.

A couple of other people in the room, including Iroh, voiced their agreement, and the name was finalized.

As they entered his room after the meeting, Zuko held the door open for Katara, who walked right in and sat down right on his bed that was recently made by servants. Zuko sat down beside her. They really only had fifteen minutes alone together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and not as an ambassador and the Fire Lord, due to their busy schedules. Still, Katara was thankful that they had time together at all.

Zuko sighed and rubbed at his aching neck. Katara saw the movement and noticed that he was wearing that one obnoxiously heavy collar again that she noticed that one time in his office.

“Here.” She gestured for him to come closer to him and he followed suit and leaned his upper body closer to her. She undid his collar and his shoulders immediately slumped over at the loss of weight pushing them down and choke holding around his neck. “Turn around,” Katara commanded.

Zuko raised his brow and twisted his body to face away from her. She placed her hands on his shoulders, put weight in her palms, and began rubbing. He sighed at the pleasurable feeling of her hands massaging his shoulder muscles.

Her hands moved around his shoulders and up and down his back, applying different types of pressures to different areas. Usually, when Katara gave people massages, she used her healing water. She didn't this time for Zuko because to do it, his shirt needed to be off and he didn't have that much time before he had to go do something else. Also seeing him shirtless might make her feel a tinge of arousal, and they didn't have time to take care of that either.

Zuko’s eyes were closed and his head was tilted to the side. As she continued the pleasurable massage, he spoke. “I’m sorry about what happened at the meeting.”

“What do you mean?” Katara asked.

He turned his neck so that he could see her out of his peripheral vision. He had a blush on his cheeks. “The way Advisor Zahr and Lei were acting. It wasn’t fair. I’m sorry about the sexism that you experienced while being here. Some people here are trapped in the traditional ways that Sozin set and still need to change. Which really isn’t an excuse.”

Katara reassured him that it was really okay. “At home, it’s really a lot worse sometimes than here since a large group of Northern Water Tribe people moved in, which of course we are grateful for, but their views on women and men aren’t too progressive.”

“Really?” Zuko asked though Katara knew he wasn’t surprised. He’s been to the Northern Water Tribe and has met with people from there. There was definitely a stigma between what is and is not allowed for each gender to do. Katara had told him before about how when she and Aang first went there to learn waterbending, Pakku refused to teach it to her because she’s a girl. It was a contrast to the Foggy Swamp Tribe which was a lot more free-spirited and pretty much a matriarchy.

“Definitely. Haruk is a pretty good example of the men that moved in. But don't worry, there is no way that Gran Gran would let them bring in all the sexist traditions that she moved away from.”

Zuko smiled. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.” Katara continued talking. “I actually really like it a lot here in the Fire Nation, more than I thought I would. I haven’t really experienced that much homesickness yet and being around friends helps.”

Zuko’s smile brightened. “That’s good.” He turned his entire body to face her and she stopped massaging him. He reached forward and held one of her hands in one of his larger, rougher, warmer, paler ones. “Katara.”

“Yeah?” Since they were now facing each other, they were able to look in. to each other’s eyes.

He swallowed down his nerves creeping around his mind. “Would you be okay with being my serious girlfriend publicly?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke before she could. “If we do have our relationship be public, everyone will assume that you’re going to become the Firelady at some point in the future.”

“They wouldn’t assume that right away, right?” Katara asked.

He looked down at their hands and caressed the back of hers with his thumb. “As the Fire Lord, there is no such thing as me casually dating someone in the public’s eye. When we,  _ If  _ we, confirm the rumors to the public, instead of letting the rumors fly like we previously have, everyone will be anxiously waiting for us to get married. Which, of course, we wouldn’t do until we are both ready, but people might hound you about it until it happens. People were acting that way when Mai and I were dating, and at the time I just became the Fire Lord. Since Mai and I have broken up, people will take us as me finding a new Firelady. It will put you under even more speculation.”

Katara took a second after he was done talking to look into his eyes and process the information. Before she could respond, there was a knock on the door. Both of their heads turned to face it and Zuko loudly asked, “What is it?”

Through the door, a servant said, “Fire Lord, I’m here as a reminder that you have that meeting with the Earth Kingdom dignitaries that are visiting starting very soon.”

“Alright, I’ll be there shortly. You may go.” Zuko dismissed the servant and turned back to the Waterbender who’s hand he was still holding and caressing. “Sorry about that. I should probably leave soon.” He stood up off the bed and used his hand still holding hers to help him up as well.

“It’s alright, I actually have to go meet with your mom about herbal medicine supply stuff right now anyway and right afterward I have a lesson with Thala.” She helped him put the large collar back around his neck and connect it back together. “Is it okay if I have some time to think over my answer to your question?”

“Of course.” He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “See you at dinner?”

“See you at dinner.” She promised, they both went through the door and went their separate ways down each opposing side of the hall.

“Bacui berries by themselves can be used to cure the poison of the white jade plant if accidentally consumed. Although, it  _ can _ easily be mistaken with the Maka’ole berry, which causes blindness.” Ursa was showing Katara various types of things that she learned through her years as being an herbalist that she will put together in supply for the hospital. It was the perfect job for her, because she could be at home and spend time with her husband and youngest daughter, and still provide the needed medication for the hospital. This also would help the Fire Nation economy because it would come from a local resource.

Katara couldn’t help but be fascinated by everything that she was learning. Of course, she knew about plants that could be used to heal when grown and brewed in certain ways, but there wasn’t too much plant life in the South Pole, so all they really had to help with internal wounds was her water bending and aromatic seaweed lotion if the occasion called for it.

“I’m not sure if I have told you or not yet, but I’ve contacted my friend from the Earth Kingdom who is also an herbalist and has been one for a lot longer than I have been, and she says that she is more than happy to help create the medications too advanced for me for the Painted Lady’s Hospital,” Ursa said.

“That’s really helpful, thank you!” Katara responded enthusiastically.

“You’re welcome, I’m very glad that I can help.”

They took a step to another step to a different shelf into the rather impressively large at-home apothecary and Ursa held up another glass container with a different plant in it. “Of course you are aware that ginger root tea is a good solution to curing motion sickness and is easy to make. Of course, Iroh’s tea tastes much better than what I can make, but mine aims for more curing and less about taste.” The corners of Ursa’s lips were turned upward and her eyes were wrinkled.

Katara gave a small laugh at her boyfriend’s mother’s joking comment. On the shelf next to where the jar of ginger root was, there was another plant next to where it was placed before, it looked similar to the ginger root in color, but was much thinner and longer. It must be pretty unique to the Fire Nation because Katara didn't recognize it from her time traveling around the rest of the word, although plants were never really her main focus during those times of course. She lifted her hand and pointed to it, “What kind of root is that?”

“Oh, this?” Ursa asked, “It’s Ginseng root. It’s rumored to be used as a possible aphrodisiac, but mostly I just use it to create pain relievers.” 

Katara nodded in understanding. She had Ginseng tea before and she didn't really like it, but it was made by Zuko when he was teaching Aang firebending, so really the bad taste could possibly not be the tea's fault.

“Speaking of aphrodisiacs,” Ursa said with a smile like she was laughing at her own joke in her head. She put down the two roots that she was holding and walked away from the shelf entirely and to a drawer labeled ‘SS. ROOT EXTRACT’. She opened the drawer and picked out a small blue container with liquid inside. “Are you currently on any form of birth control, Katara?”

Katara sputtered, taken aback by the question that felt as though it came from nowhere from the mother of the man that she was dating and has slept with, (Katara was really hoping her face wasn’t giving that fact away).

Ursa seemed to move right past Katara’s weird throat choking noise. “I’m sure you know what stoneseed root is since it is also grown in the Southern Water Tribe. I’ve found it to be the best for regulating menstrual cycles and prevent painful cramping as well as the preemptive use.”

Katara nodded, the blush on her face now slowly melting fading away. “We use it in the Southern Water Tribe too, but instead using the extract. We soak the root for twenty-four hours, and then brew it into a tea.”

“Interesting, I’ll have to write it down. Do you also use it in that form?”

Her blush returned when Katara nodded.

Ursa nodded and laughed with a knowing smile. She already knew that her son and the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador were dating since Zuko told her. “When I was the Fire Princess, Ozai actually forbade me using any form of birth control until after I had two children.”

Katara’s eyebrows were raised in astonishment and showed how horrified she was at learning this new fact. “Is that some sort of tradition for every Fire Lady?” 

Ursa looked horrified but comforted Katara in return. “Oh, definitely not. That was just the way Ozai was. Zuko put laws in place to return women the freedom of their own bodies.” 

Katara smiled, it felt like every day since arriving in the Fire Nation, she learned something new to be proud of Zuko for. Katara still had more questions though. “What if the next royal firstborn was a girl? Would they have to keep trying until they had a male child to become the next in line to be the next Fire Lord?”

“I’m sure that's how it was when the line of royalty began, but even though there hasn’t been a female Fire Lord in the last dozen or so generations, there has been in the past.”

That made sense. It explained why some post-war Fire Nation extremists were so in support of Azula having the throne even though she was female. “It’s kind of the same way in the Southern Water Tribe, although there hasn’t been a female chief yet to my knowledge, there isn’t anything or anyone against having a female chief, it depends on who the current chief names as their successor.”

Ursa leaned forward slightly, interested in the conversation that they were having. “Zuko told me that your Father is the current chief of the Southern Water Tribe, does that mean you’re going to be the next one?”

Katara shook her head. “No, my older brother Sokka is. I’d never admit it to him, but he’s going to be a better chief for our home tribe than I ever could.”

Ursa led them to two high stools at the table in the room for them to sit and continue speaking.

Katara had so many more questions in her mind that she wanted to have answered before she agreed to publicly date Zuko. It was a lucky coincidence that she had already planned to meet with Ursa and now could ask her a couple. “So what are the jobs and responsibilities of the Fire Lady?”

Ursa placed a teacup in front of each of them and filled them both with tea from a teapot that was boiling while she was giving the younger woman a tour of her apothecary. “The most obvious and traditional answer is to meet people and be a socialite and hostess.”

Katara sipped the lavender tea as she listened to Ursa’s answer to her question.

“One important role is to look into healthcare for the Fire Nation citizens and programs regarding such. During the time of the war and beforehand, it was actually the job of past Fire Ladies to spy on the other Nations, as they were viewed as rivals.”

Katara really wasn’t too surprised by that fact, but she decided to give it a positive flip. “That could be changed to being in charge of communicating with the other nations and making sure that the alliance between them and the Fire Nation is good and healthy.”

Ursa raised her eyebrows and nodded with a smile. “And of course one of the most important jobs of the Fire Lady is to support the Fire Lord, as he will support the Fire Lady as well in her duties.”

“How much of these things would apply to me at the moment if say- I don't know- if Zuko and I were to come out as publicly dating?” Katara asked, trying to ask in a way that was inconspicuous and hopefully did not give too much away.

“Only the last one would really apply to you, which I know is something that you already do now.” She said with a wink, her red painted lips were upturned into a sweet smile. “I hope I don't freak you out by saying this, and I know everything that you have in your now-romantic relationship with Zuko is very recent, but the Fire Nation would be lucky to have a Fire Lady like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a pretty chill chapter, but it was still one that was fun to write. The next chapter will be out on Tuesday (6/2).
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr, if you have any questions about the fic or the update schedule, or even if you just want to say hi, my asks are always open. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> I have a Pinterest board for this fic if you would like to see some visuals for the themes. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helllooooooo, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

Katara knew that she missed traveling by flight, but while being on a large oversized airship, she realized that she really just missed Appa. The airship that she was in much larger than any Fire Nation airship that she had seen previously. She was standing at one edge with Zuko, who joined her in gazing out at the land and sea that they were quickly passing by.

“Hey,” Zuko said.

Katara turned her head and smiled up at him. “Hey.”

“Have you- um- have you thought about what I asked?”

Katara glanced around to see if anyone was listening since she preferred to have conversations like this more privately. The only people on the airship besides them were Toph and two royal guards that Katara recognized as the ones who took them to meet Ursa that first time. They all seemed too busy doing something else to listen.

She nodded, keeping eye contact with his slightly nervous expression. She felt a little nervous as well, but she knew this conversation needed to happen. “How would the citizens of the Fire Nation perceive and feel about their Fire Lord seriously dating someone from the Southern Water Tribe?” She bit her lip.

Zuko slowly reached out and lightly placed his hand on top of hers that was closest to him that was still holding on to the railing. His hands were warm. “I’m not going to lie to you. Honestly, there would be some people that wouldn’t be, well, too thrilled with it. And that's not only the people who are opposed to me being the Fire Lord.”

Katara felt the worry line between her eyebrows grew more prominent and her downturned lips tightened.

Zuko continued. “But I think that it will give those people an opportunity to learn about the culture you grew up with and I know that you, as well as the other ambassadors, can help my people be less ignorant and hateful.”

Katara smiled a little and flipped her hand over so that her palm was pressed against his and that their fingers could interlock with one another’s. “What about your advisors? Even if they push you towards pursuing someone and are happy about the rumors saying that you are doing it, I’m not some dignitary or daughter of one from the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom.”

His other hand came up and interlocked with her free one and he squeezed it. Now completely facing each other, he replied. “Katara. You are the daughter of the  _ chief _ of the Southern Water Tribe, of which you are an ambassador. You are a master waterbender and healer who taught the Avatar waterbending. In the final Agni Kai before the end of the war, you beat my sister and saved my life and if for some crazy reason that's not enough for them, us dating opens up a bigger excuse to expand our resources with the Southern Water Tribe. They should be ecstatic.”

Katara’s smile grew so wide that her teeth were showing and her eyes began to sting. “Okay.” She said.

“Okay?” Zuko asked with his head tilted to the side and his brow furrowed.

“Okay, I agree to the public courting.”

Zuko’s eyebrows raised and his mouth pulled into the biggest smile that she’s probably ever seen on him. Katara stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. In return, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Let’s wait to tell everyone that isn’t family that we’re dating until we get back to the Fire Nation. This trip is about Sokka and Suki’s wedding, and we really don't want to do anything that would take the attention away from those two.” She felt him nod his head, his chin probably messing up her hair a little bit. 

_ ‘Oh well.’  _ She thought, fondly.

When they released each other from their hug, Zuko’s self-doubting thoughts swam around his brain and his smile fell. His chin dropped and he glanced in between their feet. “What will the people of the Southern Water Tribe think when they see me again? It’s obvious that they’ll be able to recognize me as the boy they caused so much fear and terror in their village. It's the same scar on my face as before.”

_ ‘What will the people of the Southern Water Tribe think when they hear that the chief's daughter is dating the Fire Lord?’  _ Zuko said the intimidating thought to himself. His nerves and the guilt were a big part of why he still had yet to visit the Southern Water Tribe since his coronation.

“Zuko, you’ve already proven time and time again that you’ve changed and are a good person, and about your scar,” She lifted her hand and caressed his scar the same way that felt so long ago in the catacombs. Zuko felt his eyes fluttered closed gently at her soft smooth touch against the dark rigid and rough skin. He shivered. “Every flaw that you perceive on yourself is just another way that I can remember exactly what you look like, which in return, reminds me exactly of who you are.”

He opened his eyes slowly and locked her gaze on hers. “You once said that when you thought of my face, it was the face of the enemy. I interpreted that to mean my scar.”

She nodded. “I remember that. Back then I remember offering to get rid of your scar, I’m happy I didn't, and not only so I could use the water from the spirit pool to help Aang.” Her voice was soft and smooth like her hand.

“I’m glad that you didn't too. Uncle helped me realize that it's part of me and that it isn’t a bad thing.”

“He’s right. This scar shows how brave and strong you are. Both of them do.” Her eyes narrowed and her lips gave a small smirk and her volume lowered a little bit more. “It also makes you look pretty sexy.”

Zuko felt his face heat up but still smiled nonetheless. For the entire time they dated, Mai and him never really spoke about the scar on his face. She never touched it or really even looked at it either. When she touched his face, it was always the other side. Mai found him attractive despite the scar, Katara found him attractive including the scar. It was reassuring for him to know that was how Katara felt.

Zuko leaned forward and captured Katara’s lips in a soft but firm kiss. At the sound of fake wrenching sounds coming from behind them, they pulled apart.

“I don't even have to be able to see to know that you’re kissing. You guys make these gross noises” Toph complained.

The two of them glanced at each other. Katara broke out into laughter and Zuko smiled. They were both blushing bright red. They didn't kiss for the rest of the trip there, but they did hold hands, and Toph didn't make any snarky comments about it.

Passing overhead of the beautiful white blanket of land that was the Southern Water Tribe, there were more buildings of ice and tents than Katara remembered. There were also a lot more people there than there previously was, it looked like, probably due to all the people who were visiting to attend the wedding. Even though there were people visiting from all over, the population looked to still be wearing mostly blue since most of the people who were visiting were from the Northern Water Tribe and Kyoshi Island. 

During the travel, as the air got cooler, and as they got closer to their destination, all of the passengers on the large Fire Nation airship put on heavier coats to keep warm. This included the two royal guards who were using their fire bending to keep the airship floating and traveling up high in the sky.

They landed the ship a little far from the main village area so as not to alert any of the tribe members, but still close enough that it wouldn’t be too long of a walk. They stepped onto the icy ground and Katara smiled, feeling happy to be back visiting home. 

Toph obviously didn't feel the same way. “Cold ice and snow on my bare feet. Not the best feeling.”

Katara turned to look at the younger girl that was almost gliding slowly across the ice and snow. “I offered you a pair of snow leopard caribou hide boots on the way here to borrow and you said,” She put her hands on her hips and did a slightly mocking voice to tease Toph with.  _ “I’d rather lose my bending, Sweetness.” _

“Yeah, yeah.” Toph moved her hand in the air, waving Katara off.

The two guards that came with them were standing behind them at a respectful distance. In front of them came Sokka and Suki quickly running up. When they reached them, a long hugging session began. It started by Sokka hugging his younger sister and Suki hugging Toph and then the Fire Lord. They switch and eventually both Sokka and Suki each end with hugging all three of them.

“It’s been a while, Jerkbender,” Sokka said to Zuko, now stepping out of the hug.

“I agree,” Zuko said. His face displayed how clearly happy he was to be in contact with one of his best friends again.

“I’m so glad you guys were able to make it,” Suki said while pulling them all in for another bone-crushing group hug. “I know I saw you guys a little while ago when I was in the Fire Nation, but I still would have been sad if you missed our wedding.”

“There is nothing in the world that would make me miss this,” Katara said, gripping her soon to be sister in law’s hands.

“We tried, she still came despite all of the chains that we held her down with.” Toph joked.

It was crazy for Katara to think about how her brother, who felt like just yesterday she was penguin sledding with and battling against in snowball fights, was now old enough to get married and plan when to have kids with his wife and someday become the chief of their tribe. He definitely looked older. His hair was still in a wolf's tail but was no longer shaved underneath, but instead had a beaded braid at the front. His jaw was more angular and had scruff on it as well, making him closely resemble their father. 

“Where’s Dad and Gran-Gran?” Katara asked.

“They’re in an important meeting with Gram-Pakku and some other people. They’ll be out sometime soon.” Sokka responded.

Zuko nodded. “As soon as your Father is free, I want to see him so that I can express my gratitude for letting me stay here.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I should probably also apologize to your grandmother about what happened last time.”

“What happened last time?” Toph asked in her excited mischievous tone. Zuko blushed and told her it was nothing that they needed to go over, waving her off. 

Toph took the hint and recoursed. “So, how are the wedding preparations going?”

“Pretty good,” Sokka answered and turned his head to look at his fiancé with a smile, she nodded.

“Yeah,” Suki audibly agreed, “It's been a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. You guys’ Gran-Gran was a huge help.”

Katara smiled, “I’m glad.”

“Are you guys doing a more Kyoshi Island traditional wedding or more of a Southern Water Tribe traditional one?” Zuko asked.

“We’ll be incorporating a little bit of both,” Suki said. “But enough about our wedding for now.” She placed her hand on Katara’s arm and glanced briefly at Zuko as she spoke, “I need a continuation of the conversation we had before I left.”

Katara blushed. “Well actually, um- about that-“ Katara reached for Zuko’s hand and lightly squeezed it and he squeezed hers back.

Toph interrupted. “They’re dating.”

Zuko and Katara’s face turned as red as the top of the airship out of embarrassment. Sokka’s and Suki’s faces both showed surprise, with an underlying tone of two very different emotions from one another’s.

Toph’s face had a mischievous smirk on it. She reached up and placed her hand on Suki’s shoulder, leaned forward, and whispered something in the bride-to-be’s ear. None of the other three were able to catch what was said, but it must have been something interesting because when Toph pulled away, both of the girls were giggling.

Katara watched their exchange of laughter with a confused expression on her face, which Suki noticed and responded by giving the waterbender a wink. She didn't know what to think of that little scene that happened, so she let go of Zuko’s hand and turned to her older brother. “Let me tell Dad, okay? I don't want him to make a big deal out of it as soon as he sees us so I want to wait to tell him later.” She left out that Zuko is also probably very nervous to face the possible wrath of Chief Hakoda. 

Sokka rolled his eyes so hard that his head must have hurt. “Fine.” He glanced back and forth between Katara and Zuko again with narrowed eyes. “So when did this happen anyway?” It came out as kind of an exclamation.

“Pretty recently,” Zuko explained.

“I totally called it!” Suki said with the biggest smile on her face.

Sokka turned to her, betrayed. “You called it? Then why didn't you tell me about this exactly?” His brows were furrowed and his eyes were wide.

Suki, with a smile still on her face, raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “To avoid you going all ‘unreasonable big brother’ mode, which is exactly what you’re doing right now.”

His head snapped back and forth between looking at Katara and Zuko a couple of times before he ran his hand over his face and sighed. “I guess I can't say that I’m completely surprised. I sort of saw it coming too.”

“How?” Katara asked, confused. It wasn’t like Sokka was there in the Fire Nation when everything between her and Zuko started to occur.

“Your letters. You kept talking about him almost more than you even talked about your hospital.”

Katara blushed and put her chin down, avoiding eye contact with Zuko who had cracked a smile.

“Just so you know, this is still going to take an adjustment and take a while for me to get used to.”

“Don’t worry, Sokka.” Suki chimed in, with a devilish mischievous smirk-like smile on her face. “It’s not like they’re doing anything worse than we do,” Her sly smirk grew. “In fact, according to Toph, they may be all caught up.”

Sokka didn't understand what Suki was implying at first, but when it dawned on him, the look of pure horror on his face could only have been described as comedic.

Zuko and Katara wasted no time glaring at Toph, who couldn’t even see their faces anyway.

Sokka lifted his finger and pointed at the other couple.  _ “You!” _

Zuko looked absolutely mortified and as if Sokka swung a punch at him and he’d admit defeat and let him land at least one.

But before Sokka could say anything further, Suki dragged him away, claiming that they still had some wedding stuff that they needed to take care of. As her hands gripped Sokka’s arm, she was laughing and turned to Katara and gave her a thumbs up.

The other three watched them as they walked out of sight, Sokka occasionally turning around to glare at Zuko.

Toph was still laughing hysterically, but Katara chose to ignore it and move past what just happened. “We should probably go and greet people.” 

Zuko nodded and they trudged forward through the cold and wet ice and snow.

Zuko followed as Katara introduced him and Toph to people from her tribe. Eventually, Zuko noticed some familiar faces.

The first was Ty Lee and a group of other girls who he assumed was some of the other Kyoshi warriors. Ty Lee greeted them all with big hugs which each of the three of them returned. “It's so icy here! I keep trying to walk on my hands but I keep slipping and this big heavy coat knocks my weight off balance. All of the white and blue here is really pretty, though!”

They ran into some people from the Northern Water Tribe, including Chief Arnook whom Zuko gripped forearms with, in greeting. Arnook mentioned a niece of his that Zuko could potentially have an arranged marriage with, but Zuko ducked out of that conversation right away with ease and without revealing that he and Katara were involved.

They also saw Teo, the Duke, and the Mechanic, which Katara mentioned she hadn’t seen since right after the war ended. She was happy to learn that the Mechanic had his own job. Instead of making weapons of war for the Fire Nation, the Fire Nation funded his research into making new inventions and in return, he built airships and various other new inventions for the Fire Nation like the one that they traveled in on.

When they saw Haru playing with Snowballs with a couple of children in their tribe, he looked ecstatic to see them. “Katara, Zuko, Toph, Hey!” He had one hand cupped around his mouth to make his voice carry farther and one arm raised in the air to wave them over.

Katara stepped forward towards him and Haru stepped into the hug with a red tinge on his cheeks. His hair still adorned that green hairband, but instead of all of it hanging down and loose, it was in a braid. He also still was sporting his impressive mustache.

Zuko watched the interaction closely.

“Katara, how have you been? You look great!” Haru asked with a bright smile on his face. Even though he called out three names earlier, the young male earthbender seemed to not pay much attention to Toph and Zuko, keeping his one-track mind on Katara.

“I’m great! I’m currently living in the Fire Nation as the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador.”

“Oh, wow. That’s great! Is Aang staying there too?”

Katara shifted her footing. “No. We actually broke up a while ago.”

Haru’s smile grew bigger. He tried to mask his delight, but Zuko caught it and didn't like what he was seeing.

“Your heart is beating pretty fast there, Sparky,” Toph whispered to Zuko.

The Fire Lord gave a “hmph” in response and kept his eyes on Haru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading this chapter! I know that there are a lot of things going on in the world today, so I hope that this has offered you some temporary positive escapism. Please remember to spread love and positivity both within the fandom and in the real world.
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board for this fic and added a section titled 'The Southern Water Tribe', you can check it out here: https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> I like to post sneak peeks to future chapters on my Tumblr. I also like to play a game where I post two truths and a lie in the style of gifs for the upcoming chapter. Check it out here: https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> The next chapter will be out next Tuesday (6/9).
> 
> See you then! xxx


	15. Chapter 15

Eventually, the weekly tribe business meeting ended. A group of the tribe’s higher-ups came out from the recently constructed building made of ice, and among those were some people that Katara recognized to be her family members and some of her Father’s close friends that she grew up around and hearing all sorts of stories about.

Kanna was the first to spot Katara and when her wrinkly old face brightened, Katara absolutely bolted to the group and started by giving her grandmother a hug. “Gran Gran, I missed you so much.”

The older woman squeezed her granddaughter in response. “I missed you too, Katara. I think that you should change your schedule from sending letters once a week to every single day. Otherwise, I just end up missing my granddaughter far too much.”

Katara laughed and nodded. She moved on from her grandmother to her old waterbending teacher.

He spoke first. “How has my star pupil and favorite granddaughter been doing?” Master Pakku asked.

“I’ve been doing great! How has everything been going with the waterbending school? Are all the kids behaving?”

Pakku nodded with a fond smile. “It's been going great. The students have improved greatly since you left. They have all missed you. Especially little Nikita.”

Katara’s smile brightened and grew so much that it practically covered her entire face. “I’ll have to say hi to her this evening when she gets out of school for the day.”

“When did you get here? Have you been here long?” Gran Gran asked.

“Not too long. The trip wasn’t too long either. Suki and Sokka greeted us when we first got off the airship.”

“‘ _We_ ’? You didn't travel alone? Who did you come here with? Was Toph on the airship too?” Pakku spoke.

“Actually, I came here with both Toph and Zuko. Also two off his royal guards.”

At the mention of Zuko’s name, the sound of a throat clearing came from beside them. They turned to see Zuko awkwardly standing there, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Katara assumed that Toph must have been still catching up with Haru and that she maybe even (probably) started a quick little earthbending spar with him.

Pakku was the first to break the silence and help ease the firebender out of his awkward state. “Fire Lord Zuko, it's good to see you. How is your uncle doing? I haven’t seen him since the last White Lotus meeting.”

“He’s doing well. He told me to tell you to come to visit sometime for a round of Pai Sho and a pot of your favorite jasmine tea.”

Pakku nodded. “I’ll have to do that. Why was he not able to make it to the wedding?”

“Unfortunately, Uncle is sick. A regular at his tea shop must have mixed up his ingredients or something on accident while they had the flu. But don't worry, he should be better soon.”

Pakku nodded once again and told him, “That's good.”

Gran Gran decided to take that moment to speak and address the Fire Lord. “Your hair looks so much better than from the last time that I saw you. That haircut you had back then was awful.”

Katara quietly snickered and Zuko blushed at Kanna’s kind-of-compliment kind-of-insult.

Zuko quickly and quietly cleared his throat and then spoke. “I am so sorry for what I did the last time that I was here, especially to you. My actions were horrific and in no way honorable.”

Kanna smiled up at him. “That’s all water under the bridge. You’re a good man now. You’ve helped my people and have helped the people in my family.”

The relief on Zuko’s face was instant but was then replaced with surprise when the older woman pulled him into a hug. He politely returned the hug back. Katara watched the exchange with a wide grin.

The front door of the ice building opened again and out of it came Bato followed by Chief Hakoda. 

Hakoda spotted the group and much like his daughter did earlier, quickly jogged over to them and wordlessly enveloped his daughter into a giant platypus bear hug.

“Hi Dad, I missed you.”

“I missed you too, sweetie.” Hakoda glanced at the Fire Lord that was watching the father-daughter display. The young man stepped forward and reached out to do the traditional Southern Water Tribe forearm grip, which Hakoda returned with a smile over their thick coats. “Fire Lord Zuko, I’m so glad that you were able to make it here to celebrate my son’s wedding.”

“Of course. Thank you so much for having me here, Chief Hakoda.”

“Absolutely. I’ve heard many great things about the nonprofit Fire Nation hospital that you will be opening soon.”

“Thank you. I don't know whether or not Katara mentioned it to you in a letter, but it was actually her idea.” Zuko glanced at Katara and they exchanged a smile between them. 

Hakoda didn't miss that exchange, or the fact that they were standing seemingly a little closer together than what would be viewed as _just_ two people who were working together, and _just_ the smallest bit too close for a single man and a single woman who were _just_ friends. “I believe it, she’s a smart one,” Hakoda responded.

“It’s great to see how much the Southern Water Tribe has grown,” Zuko stated while taking another glance around.

“We owe a huge thanks to our sister tribe from the North for that. Many of its occupants voyaged here to help us build more ice shelters and then decided to stay which helped us grow in population. That of course added to the men that had returned home from the war.”

“I’m sure that it was at least in part due to good leadership,” Zuko responded.

Hakoda nodded and silently listened, only chiming in occasionally as the conversation around him came to life. He thought that the Fire Lord’s comments were trying a little too hard to please him, and watching his daughter and the Fire Lord keep exchanging brief glances with very certain expressions shown only with their eyes, he thought he knew why. Hakoda was just happy to see and watch his daughter’s smiling face as she spoke.

Before Katara left to assume the ambassador position in the Fire Nation, Hakoda noticed how depressed she had become. She did as she was asked and was guided to do for the tribe, and of course, she enjoyed teaching bending to those around her age and younger, and not only teaching waterbending to the boys, but to the girls as well. She worked to teach both genders waterbending healing as well. She also loved spending some time with Kanna and the other healers, helping to tend to those who were injured and pained.

When she came back to the Southern Water Tribe after the inevitable break up with the Avatar, his daughter was more than happy to be back from traveling with Aang and spend time with the family the way that they all did together when she was much younger. But staying in the same location and doing the same old routine every day dragged on Katara and made her noticeably less and less happy as time went by until she was pretty much depressed.

It broke Hakoda’s heart to see his daughter that way and he didn't know what to do or how to approach her to talk about it. Sokka and Kanna were both worried as well, but of course, when Kanna would ask Katara about it, she would deny feeling down at all and say that she loved being home and helping the tribe and being a part of it again.

Then Hakoda received a letter from the Fire Nation from the Fire Lord himself. The letter told him about the plan for ambassadors and how they would live in the Fire Nation and it was requested that someone be sent to act as an ambassador, preferably someone younger from the up and coming generation with lots of good ideas, on behalf of the rest of the Southern Water Tribe. The job and role and title description sounded like something that would be perfect for Katara, something that she was meant for, and Katara was the only person that would do a great job at it. Because of this, he chose her to be the Ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe and live in the Fire Nation. 

He knew that he would miss his daughter deeply if she chose to accept the position and moved all the way to the Fire Nation, but he also knew that she would not only want the position and love it, but she also needed the change of scenery where she was still doing something to help her people. He didn’t like that he was sending his daughter to the land of people who killed her mother, but Katara was very brave, she’d be able to handle it. He also knew that his daughter and the Fire Lord were friends and that it would be helpful and good for both of them to have a friend around.

All of his daughter’s letters helped him to know that he made the right choice. It started from even the first line of the first letter that he received telling him that Toph was also an ambassador and was representing Gaoling. Her letters soon became filled with plans for the hospital and everything that she was accomplishing as an ambassador, which included things like opening up trade routes and creating more unity for the three nations.

Katara’s letters also mentioned the Fire Lord a few times in a way that, plus what Hakoda was witnessing take place between the two now, made the man suspect that there was something going on between the Fire Lord and his daughter. Hakoda decided to not let it concern him too much. Zuko was a young man who had made many mistakes in the past but has repented for not only his own, but for the rest of his country’s mistakes as well, or he was at least working on it.

He would never forget the fact and was forever in debt to him in the way that he had helped Sokka bust him out of prison and had saved Katara’s life by going in front of his crazy sister’s lightning for her. Despite all of this, it would still be hard of course to feel that any boy that would come along would be good enough for his daughter. He felt this way even for Aang, who was the avatar and savior of the world. But Hakoda was sure that the young man would work hard to prove himself to him over and over again since he is his girlfriend’s father. It’s the same way he was to Kanna when he and Kya began seeing each other.

 _‘Besides, if the boy breaks her heart or hurts her in any way, he’ll have not only me and Sokka to answer to but Katara herself’._ At that thought, Hakoda gave a satisfied smile. Now all he had to do was respect the young couple and wait for them to come to him and tell him that they were seeing each other when they’re ready.

Dinner that night in the Southern Water Tribe had a bunch of people sitting around a dutch oven slowly roasting over different campfires. It reminded Zuko of his time of traveling as a banished prince with his uncle and when he travelled with the gang as Aang’s firebending teacher.

“I missed having sea cucumber stew,” Katara said, putting a spoonful of her dinner into her mouth.

“Me too.” Haru agreed. “The kind that you made at the Western Air Temple was one of the best things I’ve ever had.”

Because they were in the South Pole in late fall, the sun had already started to go down and although it was still pretty light out, the moon could be seen in the sky. As everyone ate their dinner, they were all talking and having a great time. Apparently it was a tradition of the Southern Water Tribe, that the night before a wedding, everyone in the tribe all lit campfires and made dinner to have a giant potluck of sorts. Everyone would sit on chairs with platypus bearskin rug adorning them and the bride and groom-to-be had their chairs decorated more elaborately.

On one side of the circle around the fire that they were sitting at, sat Zuko and Toph, and directly across from them sat Haru and Katara. The rest of the circle was filled with Katara’s family and Suki and some others.

Toph, while still chewing a biscuit in her mouth asked, “By the way, why isn't Twinkle Toes here yet?”

Sokka, who also had food in his mouth, answered. “Didn’t you get his letter? Aang is in the new colonies, helping King Bumi reconstruct the rock transportation shoot system in Omashu. He let Suki and I know that he won't be able to make it until tomorrow in time for the ceremony.”

“But he told us that he’ll definitely be here.” Suki chimed in. “He’s probably traveling on Appa right now.”

Sokka gave a smile like he knew something, but Zuko could tell that really he was admiring his own joke before he even said it. “You know, just like his and Katara’s former relationship,” Katara already had face palmed as if she had heard this joke multiple times in the past before, and she probably did, “Aang is always up in the air.”

The only response that the pathetic comedian received was a couple of groans, but still, the man spurred on. “Get it? Because he’s an airbender.”

“We all know that he’s an airbender, Sokka. You don't have to explain that part.” Toph said.

Sokka ignored the younger girl and turned to Suki. “Why didn't you laugh?”

Suki looked a little sheepish with a hint of pity and offered up, “I did the first time I heard it.”

Zuko wasn't paying attention to that, though. He was more focused on listening to the conversation between his girlfriend and the guy that was talking to her.

“So you and Aang broke up?” Haru asked Katara quietly, as to keep the conversation going just between them.

“Uh yeah. We did a while ago.” Katara said back quietly, matching his volume, not wanting to talk about her past relationship, and have everybody hear.

It was probably to hear her better, though Zuko viewed that as just a dumb excuse, but Haru scooted over his chair and leaned in towards the attractive waterbending girl that was close to his age a bit more.

Toph spoke to Zuko, but while the earthbender spoke, he kept his gaze planted on the two people across from him. “Calm down there, Sparky. Your heartbeat is going faster than a pygmy puma.”

Suki saw Zuko’s line of sight and leaned into Zuko and put a comforting hand on his shoulder before almost immediately pulling it away. “Are you okay, Zuko? Your body temperature is running really hot.”

Still, Zuko kept his gaze on the other two who seemed to not even notice him blatantly watching them. But, still Zuko responded to Suki’s question. “Don’t mind me. I’m very flammable.”

Katara didn't even seem to realize yet that Haru had started to try and flirt with her and make her laugh. She kept up with him like she was conversing with an old friend that she hadn't talked to in a while. Which in her defense, _she was_. But that didn’t mean Zuko had to be thrilled about it.

Zuko was aware of the fact that he was a jealous person. Also that, even though he learned how to control it a little bit while teaching the Avatar firebending and through the years of getting older and heavy meditation, he often had quite the temper that ran very hot. After that whole debacle at the beach, while he was dating Mai, he worked hard at curving his jealousy in their relationship. In fact, he couldn't even think of a time where he felt jealous after that. But now his jealousy was back and it was rearing its ugly head.

And it wasn't like he thought Katara would cheat on him or anything like that. It was completely about his own insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. He was fearful that Katara would realize that she can do so much better than him, and maybe that better-than-him person could possibly be Haru. Haru: The guy who didn't chase down her best friend to have him killed or raid her home village tribe or tied her to a tree. The image of Haru tying Katara down anywhere, especially a bed, made Zuko’s blood _boil._

He also didn't trust Haru. Which he of course realized was dumb and pretty idiotic. He knew Haru, he was his friend, but his jealousy was making him forget about that and his mind kept telling him and showing him from his imagination the things that Haru saw and the fantasies that he might be having about Katara. He tried telling himself that it's not like Haru knew that they were dating or anything like that, but that didn't help.

As the conversation went on and on, Haru seemed to casually touch Katara even more and scoot his seat closer to hers. Katara seemed to notice it a bit too and glanced at Zuko, who was staring right at them, but it looked like she settled on writing it off as Haru just being over the top friendly.

At the quick glance that Katara spared him, Zuko tried his best to calm himself and smooth out the crease in his brow as not to make her think that he was angry at her.

Ty Lee, Suki, and Sokka were having a conversation about why it was that the people on Kyoshi Island wore blue when the rest of the Earth Kingdom wore browns and greens. At one point Ty Lee said something teasing towards Sokka, and while Suki did her best to repress a giggle, Sokka responded by saying, “let me get back to you when I think of a witty response.” Zuko didn’t even try to hide the fact that he wasn’t listening.

At this point, the sun had pretty much finished setting and dinner was pretty much over. The majority of the tribe had gone to bed and really the only people that were still out were Zuko, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Ty Lee, Hakoda, Kanna, and Haru.

“Zuko, could you keep the fire burning?” Hakoda asked him.

The firebender nodded and turned to the sizzling out remains of the campfire. Zuko meant to send over a small fire blast into the fire, but due to all of the emotions that were rushing through him, it came out much bigger and caused the campfire to crackle and roar back to life and lick higher into the air than it was supposed to. Zuko blushed in embarrassment, but nobody noticed his slip up anyway. He glared into the fire and then returned his line of vision back to Katara and Haru.

Haru had somehow scooted _even closer_ to Katara. She was laughing at something he had said and it caused Zuko’s eyes to narrow. Then Haru asked a pretty bold question that, to Zuko, implied a lot of what intentions towards Katara were. “So... are you seeing anyone right now?”

Zuko didn't mean to say it out loud. He really didn't. But the words came out of his mouth by themselves, without his permission and loudly and honestly kind of aggressively. _“Yeah, she is. Me.”_

At that moment that he said his answer, it was completely quiet like everyone had finished their individual conversations all at the same time. And judging by the way Hakoda and everyone else was looking at him, people were experiencing an array of feelings from this news. It was mostly just shock, but also Ty Lee in pure excitement and gushing glee.

Toph took that moment to lighten up the tense air with a witty comment, despite it being unhelpful. “REALLY? _NO WAY!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody commented on the last chapter that they love Jealous!Zuko and as soon as I read it, I couldn't wait to post the next chapter! I hope whoever commented it (I forgot who it was, I'm so sorry) is pleased. Anyway, y'all have been giving me so much love and support on this fic and I seriously appreciate it. Thank you, guys. <3
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board. Go check it out if you would like. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Also if you follow me on Tumblr, you see the little teasers and sneak peeks that I post. Feel free to ask me questions or even just say hi as well, my asks are always open. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> The next chapter will be out next Tuesday (6/16). See you then! xxx


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMFG THIS FIC HAS REACHED OVER 200 KUDOS. I COULD CRY!!!
> 
> Content Warning: This chapter is like 90% smut.

Zuko used the fire he bent into his palm to provide a little more light for him and Hakoda trudging through the ice and snow in the cold dusk time air. Hakoda was the one leading them to show Zuko where he would be sleeping.

“Here it is, Fire Lord,” Hakoda said and gestured to a small one-room ice and metal structure. Zuko had never stayed in anything like it before.

Hakoda continued. “The tent right there,” The man pointed to a tent only a dozen or so feet from the structure, “is where your guards will be staying.”

Zuko nodded. “Thank you so much Chief Hakoda again for you and your tribe’s hospitality.” He knew he was probably being a little bit too polite, but this was a man who was the father of the girl that he was seeing and really _ really _ liked a lot and was very committed to. Zuko craved his approval, especially after that outburst at dinner. Hakoda didn't  _ seem  _ upset at all about the fact that the two were dating, but that didn't stop Zuko from still feeling paranoid about it.

_ The responses were not as terrible as he had been worried they would be. The only people who heard that weren't aware of Zuko and Katara’s relationship status were Ty Lee, Haru, and Hakoda. Ty Lee immediately began to gush and talk about how perfect and complimenting their auras were to one another. “The hot magenta and cold teal are so pretty and stunning!” _

_ Haru turned his attention back to the waterbender with raised eyebrows and asked her, “Is that-” He cleared his throat. “Is that true?” _

_ When she looked a little confused and a little like she was in an unreal trance but nodded, Haru scooted away from her with a kind of hurt and defeated expression on his face. It made a victorious and self-satisfied smirk appear on Zuko’s face.  _

_ Hakoda was watching Zuko with an unreadable expression and then turned to Katara. “We’ll talk about this and let you explain it to me after Sokka’s and Suki’s wedding celebration is over.” _

_ Katara, apparently unfazed by her father’s neutral features, shrugged and said “Okay.”  _

_ Sokka leaned over Suki and closer to Zuko and loudly whispered. “It doesn't seem like my dad wants to kill you, so that's a good sign.” Sokka’s hand was cupped around his mouth as if that barrier would block anyone besides the intended recipient to hear what he said. _

_ Hakoda stood up from his seat. “I’m feeling tired so I’m going to head to bed, but first I should show the Fire Lord where he will be sleeping.” _

_ “Oh. Uh, yeah. Okay.” Zuko thought he was going to stay in Sokka’s room with Sokka and Haru. It made sense as Toph would be staying with Katara and Ty Lee with Suki, but apparently that was incorrect. _

_ “Of course Fire Lord as our special guest, we have a structure prepared for you by yourself to stay in,” Hakoda said, in an unconvincing way. It was clear to everyone else he didn't want his daughter and the man dating her to be sleeping under the same roof. He wasn't ready for that yet. Zuko could understand that logic but wasn't a big fan of how Haru would now be staying and sleeping closer to Katara than he would. _

Zuko sat on the bed and sighed. His mind kept racing around and didn’t allow him to sleep. He thought about the trip over to the Southern Water Tribe and the conversation he and Katara had while on the airship and then replayed the day back. But when his mind played out the scenes at dinner, he began to feel agitated again. And even worse, when he remembered how close where Haru was sleeping was to Katara, especially compared to him, the flame in his palm grew. The sudden desire to be with Katara and pleasure her and make her happy so much that she would remember what made her think he was more worthy of dating her than Haru filled her mind.

Katara sat on her bed of skins and stuffing as she finished brushing her hair in her old bedroom. It wasn't her bedroom while growing up. Back then she had stayed in a tent, but after the war, more buildings of ice were created like the ones in the north and some using metal they received through trading with the Earth Kingdom, so her family started staying in one of those and she was able to have her own room. It was probably only a fourth of the size of her room in the Fire Nation palace, but it was nice.

Next to her on a large pile of blankets and furs was Toph. In contrast to Katara, who had already changed into her sleepwear, Toph was still fully dressed in what she wore that day. Her outfit now included a pair of thin boots Katara finally convinced the blind girl to wear before dinner when her feet had finally gone numb and began to lose all feeling.

Toph appeared to already be asleep. As soon as they got to her room after dinner, the earthbender had plopped down and her eyes haven’t opened since. Katara took that to be the perfect opportunity to sneak out and tell Zuko good night and make sure he was okay after his upset mini outburst and confession at dinner. It was perfect that Toph was asleep and wearing shoes and wouldn’t be able to feel her leave, because then she wouldn’t gossip about her sneaking out to anyone. 

Katara wasn’t even able to take three steps before Toph sat up and said “Where are you going?”

“ _ Shhhh! _ ” Katara attempted at quieting the other girl so as not to wake up her possibly sleeping family members in the next rooms over. While whispering in a hushed tone, Katara answered her question. “I um- I was going to say good night to Zuko and talk to him about what happened at dinner.”

“Right. ‘Talking’. That’s why you were sneaking.” Thankfully the girl's voice was now lowered.

“I wasn’t sneaking! I was just going quietly because I thought you were already asleep.”

“Right. Say hi to sparky for me.”

“Promise you won't tell anyone about me sneaking out? Especially my dad or Sokka?”

“I promise. Just be back before I wake up.”

“Deal.” Katara agreed

Toph returned to laying on her back with her eyes closed and breathing steadily. Katara quickly but silently put on her jacket over her nightgown and slid her socks and boots over her feet. She grabbed a small lantern so she could see as she walked outside in the dark night and paused at the door and turned back to face Toph. “Thank you, Toph. Good night.”

Toph wordlessly acknowledged the waterbender’s words by reaching her arm upwards and giving a thumbs up.

Katara did her best to step quietly through the loud crunching snow while looking around at the various igloos, trying her best to figure out which one was the one Zuko was staying in assigned by her father. She noticed a small glowing light coming through the clear ice window from one of the structures and figured it might be that one since the rest were dark and she had a feeling the firebender would have trouble sleeping in a bed that wasn't his own back at the Fire Nation palace. 

She was hesitant to knock on the door, though. Maybe he was already asleep and someone else was awake. She thought about turning back but changed her mind. After the tapping from her knuckles, the door opened and her guess proved to be correct. Standing there was the Fire Lord with his hair down, wearing his red drawstring silk sleep pants and a pair of socks. When he laid eyes on her, his eyes darkened.

She didn't really know what to say, so she started by saying something simple. “Hey.”

Zuko didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her inside the igloo. He pushed her body up against the wall of the shelter with his own. With his hands and forearms against the wall on each side of her head, he leaned his face down and kissed her, wasting no time to slide his tongue into her mouth. 

In return, Katara didn't hesitate to melt into the kiss with a sweet-sounding hum and set her lantern down on the dresser standing next to them. She pressed her tongue against his, and his hands moved into her hair, giving a slight tug. She skillfully, without separating her lips from the pleasant kissing, slid her boots off so that it was her feet in the wool socks on the polar bear fur rug.

His mouth kissed from the corner of her mouth, past her cheekbones, up to behind her hair, which he conveniently pulled out of the way, and licked her ear before nibbling on it. He paused for a second and whispered into her ear, which caused goosebumps to rise up all along her body. “Is this okay?”

Katara enthusiastically nodded and lifted her arms and wrapped them around his broad naked shoulders and neck. She whispered back, trying her best to match his naturally gifted sensual tone. “Yes. Keep going.” Zuko and she haven't done much more at all from simple kissing since the morning she agreed to be his girlfriend. Their schedules were both always so packed and when they did have time together that wasn't to meet about the hospital's finishing touches before opening, they spent time telling each other about their day. She always felt too scared to ask for him to touch her, afraid of him thinking she was being bossy or he would be requested to break away and leave for some important duty he had as the Fire Lord. She had been feeling so desperate for release and now that she got a taste of being with him, her fingers didn't truly compare to the real thing.

He smiled a predatory looking grin and pulled the warm periwinkle coat off of her and began biting and nipping at the pulse point at her neck. Her breathing became heavy and her mind became foggier at the sensational feeling. The cologne he was wearing traveled up her nostrils and into her nose, and it made the experience all that much better. Her left hand slid up and gently felt the short soft stubble growing at his jaw.

He held her face in his hands and softly spoke. “We can stop when you want to. Just tell me when.”

Katara smiled and she gripped at his waistband to pull him even closer to her. “I will. But it will be a long time until we get there.  _ If  _ we get there.”

Zuko pecked her lips and then dropped down to his knees so he was level with her pert nipples peaking through her thin navy nightdress. He started with her right nipple, having easy access to it with her lack of any under bindings, and through the thin fabric of her nightdress, he placed his lips around it and sucked, as if it was her clit he had his mouth attached to. She gasped. He pulled the deep v neckline of her dress down to reveal the dusky brown peaks and circled his tongue around the risen nub against the areola. He grazed it with his teeth before giving it a light bite. By that point, she was absolutely whimpering. He continued by moving to the other nipple and giving it the same treatment. He finished the ministrations off by giving her a hickey in the valley between her breasts.

He reached up and slid the straps off her smooth tan shoulders so the dress fell to the floor by her feet and was delighted to see that just like the top, she was wearing no wrappings below either. He kissed and bit his way back up her chest, licked and sucked her collar bones, bit the skin at her neck with his teeth, pecked up past her chin, and returned to her waiting full lips that were begging to be bruised. 

The movements he made were fast and aggressive and she loved it. His hands that were resting on her full wide hips, glided up her body to the swell of her breasts, returning to the delectable torture there. This time with the added sensation of him biting her lower lip.

He started by cupping each breast in his warm firebender hands. He kneaded the flesh underneath his palms and fingertips and they both gave quiet moans. He loved the soft feeling of her body and she loved his teasing. He squeezed her heavy breasts together and up, making Katara squirm and arch her back in ecstasy.

She tried her best to be quiet up to this point (which was torture), but that feeling of his hands massaging at her body broke her vocal barrier. He pulled away from the kiss and with his forehead resting against hers, he took a moment to even his breath from the high panting rate it was at. He returned to the ear he had teased earlier and whispered into it with a devilish smirk pulling at one corner of his mouth. “ _ Shhh. My guards outside will hear us. _ ” 

Katara nodded and bit her lower lip hard.

He went back to kissing her and coaxed her tongue to return to playing with his and stroking it. He bit her lower lip again, harder this time. It was hard enough for her eyelids to open and her eyes to roll back into her head, and then licked the chewed on her lip to soothe the burning delectable pain. One of Zuko’s hands slid down her body and rested on her mons. 

He used his other hand to play with her left nipple, which he learned was far more sensitive than the other and therefore should be given his special attention. His thumb traced her pebbled peak in a circular motion and then followed the movement by flicking it. His thumb placed at her lower region did the same to her clit. She squeaked and bent her head back into the wall and her flushed face and open panting mouth faced the ceiling.

The pad of his thumb continued toying with her clit and switched to his thumbnail lightly scraping against it for a moment at one point. His hand on her breasts went to squeezing the soft sensitive flesh. One of his fingers entered inside her warm wet center. His fingers were so much longer and thicker than hers and it was blissful. He spent the first minute exploring, his fingering going in circular motions until he found her g-spot and she cried out and clamped a hand over her mouth. He added another finger and she felt like weeping for joy at the feeling. She flexed her muscles around his fingers, and this time he made a noise and slightly ground his pulsating cloth-covered erection against her hip.

He pulled his fingers out and then thrust them back into her and twisted her swollen peaks. She sank her teeth into his shoulder to stay silent, keeping in mind to not wake the guards and the entire Southern Water Tribe. They spent time listening to the symphonic sound of him pumping his middle and pointer fingers in and out of her in time of their erratic heartbeats. He could tell by her breathing that she was edging closer and closer to her climax so he went faster and harder and she breathed out,  _ “Zuko, yesssss.” _

When she came, her muscles pulsated around his fingers. Her eyes were squeezed closed and her lips were still at his shoulder. When she was done bathing in the feeling, she opened her eyes and rested her forehead against his shoulder. “That was- wow.”

She kissed her way back up from his shoulder, crawling back up to his lips in a sweet kiss, before switching the dominance and pushing him against the wall. With her body, now being the one to push him hard against the wall, she pulled his hair and kissed him with everything she had and as hard as she could. He groaned loudly into her mouth. She pulled away but kept their nose touching. And with a smile on her face and her eyes cloudy and narrowed, they felt each other’s breath on their lips and she whispered, “Shhh.” 

Zuko gulped, not expecting this turn of events. With his previous partner, he was used to always having to be the dominant one in a sexual manner, but with Katara, he was learning and experiencing new things and it excited him to no end.

She ran her hands up and down his strong muscled arms, over his chiseled chest and abs, and then with her pointer finger, traced up and down the trail of hair from right underneath his belly button to the top of his pants where the rest was hidden underneath. She dropped down to her knees and began to undo the drawstring of his pants. He went wide-eyed and paused her fingers undoing the double knotted string.

Her large round eyes looked up at him, curious as to why he stopped her. “Can I?” She asked in a whisper. “I promise I want to.”

At her promise, he enthusiastically nodded his head. She pulled his silk pants and undershorts down his toned muscular legs and onto the floor and he stepped out of them.

His manhood was fully erected pointing up into the air. Katara observed it in the soft glowing yellow lantern light. It was flushed pink and the warm velvet skin covered the throbbing veins. She gripped her hand around the base and slowly licked the tip, and then the underside, and then circled her tongue around. She did her best to do what the erotic scrolls she had read had told her men would enjoy from memory.

Zuko closed his eyes for a second and exhaled before opening his eyes again. He breathed out his thoughts which were the simple words, _“Oh, Agni.”_

She pulled the tip into her mouth and closed her eyes. He tried to hold back but accidentally thrust forward and immediately apologized. Katara smiled a cat-like smile and moved her hands to hold his waist in place against the wall. She took in as much as she could pass her lips and into her warm wet mouth. She opened up her eyes and looked at him and he was staring down at her intently like he was watching the best thing he’s ever seen in his life and it encouraged her to bob her head up and down his long length and swallow down as much of him as he could.

Zuko felt himself tightening, and right when he was about to come, he quickly pulled her face away, and he spilled his white-hot seed all over the carpet. “That was amazing. You're amazing. Thank you.” He breathed out quietly in heavy hot breaths.

Still, on her knees, she nodded and smiled. “You’re welcome.”

When Zuko had climaxed, the ice walls and window of their shelter began to melt and drip down slightly. Katara noticed and giggled. “We should probably stop for now though before we melt the entire igloo down.” She stood up and bent the slowly melting ice back into its frozen state. She then bent the semen out of the carpet, opened the door, and buried it deep into the snow, and then quietly shut the door. Zuko came up behind her, wrapped an arm around her the underside of her knees and shoulder blades, and carried her to his bed. She opened her mouth to protest but giggled instead. He carefully set her down, laid down beside her, and wrapped an arm around her naked form. They were facing each other and she stroked the skin underneath his scar.

Still whispering, he spoke. “I’m sorry about what happened at dinner. I know we agreed to wait. I got jealous and I told Haru and your father before you had the chance to and I shouldn't have.”

Katara studied his face before speaking. There was a worry line prominent on his forehead and his brow was low. “It’s okay. I’m sure Dad had probably already figured it out. About Haru, that’s fine. I doubt he’s going to tell anyone, and if he does, I don't care. I’m happy.” Katara reached a hand behind her to where he was and laced her fingers with his.

He smiled, but it faded away again. “Was the aggressiveness too much?” He asked, referring to the way he dragged her in and ravished her right as he saw her at his door.

“No, I liked it. Maybe I should make you jealous more often.” She giggled.

He squeezed her tighter in his arms, staking his claim in his own mind. “I should’ve known Haru was going to flirt with you. It’s what he did when we were younger.”

Katara tilted her head. “Haru didn’t flirt with me back then.”

Zuko’s eyebrows furrowed and rose. “Yes.  _ He did. _ ”

“Whatever.” Katara rolled her eyes, but still had a smile on her face.

“So, what’s gonna happen now that your dad and Sokka know we’re dating?”

Katara shrugged. “They’ll probably take you ice dodging or something.”

His whisper became even quieter and he was looking right into her eyes. “I really really like you.”

“I know. I really really like you too.” She gave him a quick simple and sweet peck on the lips and sat up. “I should go back soon, or else Toph might tattle on me.”

Zuko gave a slight pout but nodded and the two got redressed and Katara grabbed the lantern. She looks at all the red splotches on his skin and looks down at herself and notices red splotches there too that will soon form into hickeys. “How visible will your neck and shoulder be in the outfit you packed to wear tomorrow?” She asked.

“With the heavy coat I’ll be wearing? I’ll be completely covered.”

Katara slyly smiled. The bite mark forming on his shoulder felt like she staked her claim and she was proud. “Same goes for me. I guess that means I don't have to heal any of the marks we left on each other.”

Zuko smiled. He walked her to the door and before she left through it, and before she left through it, he pulled her into one final sweet long and slow kiss. “Goodnight.” He whispered.

“Goodnight.” She whispered back. Katara’s heart and cheeks were warm all the way back to her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted Zuko to display healthy jealousy and not over the top possessive jealousy and I’m proud of myself because I think that I captured it. :)
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board and added a section titled 'In Zuko's Igloo'. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr, if you'd like. You can also ask me questions, my asks and dms are always open. I also like to post the occasional sneak peek. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> This Friday is my birthday, so I'm hoping to be able to post another chapter that day as a little celebration. If I'm not able to get it out by then, it will definitely be out next Tuesday (6/23).


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the chapter done early! If anyone did read the endnotes in the last chapter, then this is a fun surprise.

The morning air was cold, but not nearly as cold as the previous night was. It didn't surprise Zuko to discover that he was the first to arrive at the fire pit for breakfast, fully dressed. If Sokka and Katara’s sleeping habits were anything to go by, the people of the Southern Water Tribe liked to stay up late into the night and not wake up until late morning. After all, their people were of the moon.

Zuko lit the fire and the rest of the people from the previous night at dinner started approaching him. Hakoda began roasting some fish and otter penguin eggs for everyone to eat for breakfast.

When Katara and Toph walked up, Zuko perked up and smiled, but he only let his cover be blown for a second and gave the waterbender a polite nod, and she gave a polite nod back. Katara sat near Zuko, but not right next to him, making sure to keep their formal distance as to be extra cautious and not make anyone aware that they did anything the night prior. The only two people that were missing for breakfast were Sokka and Suki, because they were both off getting ready for their wedding, something that Katara would help them with once she finished eating.

While shoveling some fried eggs onto her plate, Katara’s grandmother, Kanna, spoke. “How did you sleep last night Fire Lord Zuko? Were you cold?”

Toph snickered. “I’m sure that he managed to keep warm.”

Instead of falling for Toph’s bait and blushing like he usually would, Zuko said, “I was.” And then he clarified. “I used my bending to keep my body temperature up.”

“That’s good,” Kanna responded and Zuko watched Katara smile to herself as the group ate their breakfast and chatted and planned out what all they needed to do to get all of the preparations ready. When the food was all consumed, everyone departed and began their preparations.

The decor and layout of the matrimonial union really did combine and show off the wedding traditions of both home cultures of the bride and groom. There were dried flowers from Kyoshi put on the chairs that were aligned in the aisles with the marrying of the two in the front, which was different from the Southern Water Tribe tradition of everyone standing in a circle around the couple that was being wedded. There was still the inclusion of some Southern Water Tribe traditions like the couple wearing a deep lavender, and the tribe all working together to provide the couple a place to live once the ceremony was complete and for them to raise a family in one day.

As Zuko was placing his wedding gift for the bride and groom- the paperwork for the large boat that he specifically made for the two that was being delivered when it was done- inside the small tent where the other nicely wrapped gifts were being held, a group of young women that Zuko didn't know approached him. They were giggling and playing with their hair and started a conversation with the Fire Lord. 

These three girls giggled and blinked at him a lot as they asked him a lot of questions. At one point, one of them grazed their hand across his arm and commented on how, “red really does compliment your skin tone!”

Zuko couldn’t help but feel like the girls were making fun of him. He tried to find a way to escape from the trio, but he was cornered.

Katara tied the final dried flower stem to the last chair, but kept her eyes on her boyfriend and the three girls talking to him. She immediately knew the girls were actually trying to attempt to flirt with the Fire Lord, who was a young, wealthy, and attractive leader of a nation. Fortunately for everyone, Katara did not get jealous at that moment. It would have been silly to do so after everything that transpired between them the night prior. So, she continued with getting everything ready.

At one point though, Zuko made eye contact with her and the expression on his face looked like he was shouting for help. So, Katara walked over to the group and sweetly said, “Excuse me, Zuko, sorry to interrupt, but could I have your help finishing withholding the ice sculpture as I refreeze it?” It was a dumb excuse. She was a waterbender. She didn’t need someone to hold the ice for her. Besides, Pakku had already done it earlier.

“Uh- Yeah. Um- definitely. Excuse me.” He said to the girls with a nod and followed Katara away. When they were far enough away, he spoke again. “Thank you, it felt like they were hounding me.”

Katara placed her hands on her hips. “Did you not realize that they were flirting with you?” She asked with a raised brow and humored smile.

Zuko tightened his lips and tilted his head. “They weren't flirting with me,” he defended.

“Everyone must have not let the word out that we’re together. Or they did and those girls ignored it. You  _ are  _ quite the ladies’ man.” She teased him a little.

Zuko blushed. “No, I'm not.” 

She crossed her arms and then with a smirk on her face, uncrossed them and put her arms back to her sides. She looked around and saw that no one was around them. She took a step closer to him and watched as his brows raised.

“Yes, you are.” Katara started again. She was grinning. “How could you not be. You’re an attractive man.” She placed both of her hands on his chest. Fine, so maybe she was a  _ little  _ jealous seeing those girls surrounding him and felt the need to stake her claim like he had to her the night before.

“I am?” Zuko asked, smiling down at her. Katara loved his smile. “Can you, um…”

“Yeah?”

“Can you tell me? About it, I mean.” Zuko asked. Rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. Katara found his sudden shyness cute.

Katara’s smile turned more sensual and then morphed into a wicked grin. She bit her lip and nodded. “I’ve always thought you were handsome. It started when I saw you again in Ba Sing Se and then grew, especially in the Western Air Temple.” Her hands played with the collar and the hood of his soft red jacket. She smirked when she remembered the marks that she had left there.“That’s probably part of why I was so angry at you all the time.” She laughed and he did too. “You were  _ supposed _ to be the enemy, but I was not supposed to think that the enemy looks that good without a shirt on. It did things to my body that I hadn’t experienced yet.”

“What kind of things? Zuko asked with a grin and one eyebrow raised.

“You know what things,” Katara said, looking into his eyes.

“I do. But I want you to tell me.”

She gave him a quick kiss, “I will later. Now let’s go. The ceremony is about to start.”

He playfully groaned as she grabbed his arm to lead him to their seats.

Katara listened as the guests whispered to each other how beautiful the ceremony was and she wholeheartedly agreed. Then the whispers shifted to talk about one guest in particular.

Aang was able to make it and showed up on his flying air bison right as the ceremony was about to begin. By the time that he got there, there were really only seats left in the back to sit in so that's where he sat. Because of this, Aang’s arrival went unnoticed by Katara, Toph, and Zuko, who were sitting in the upper middle. Katara only learned of it when the person seated behind her whispered a little too loud.

The way that Sokka and Suki were looking at each other with pure love made Katara a little teary-eyed. She felt something on her hand and looked down and saw that Zuko had placed his hand on top of hers. She interlocked their fingers and he gave her hand a squeeze. The two smiled at each other before turning their attention back to the ceremony that was taking place between their two close friends.

Zuko’s little act of physical affection and all of the emotions that were circling around made Katara realize that she now had someone to share these special moments like this with and how much she wanted to share  _ more _ moments like this with Zuko. Katara held Zuko’s hand even tighter, not caring if anyone noticed.

Everyone loudly cheered at the end of the ceremony and got up to begin the reception. Katara and Zuko followed the crowd but were interrupted. A much smaller unannounced Fire Nation airship arrived at the Southern Water Tribe and landed near the other, so as not to disrupt the party taking place. Zuko and Katara noticed it immediately. 

They looked at each other and ran over to where the aircraft landed, pushing through the crowd to see what was wrong. A royal guard standing inside the basket spotted the two of them, and started speaking. “Fire Lord and Ambassador Katara, a flaring bomb was dropped down in Fire Fountain City.”

“Agni, was there any deaths?” Zuko asked.

“Did the hospital get hit?” Katara asked.

The royal guard shook his head no, and the royal guards that they came with began loading up the airship that they arrived thereon. “No, but five people have been hurt.”

“What got hit?” Zuko asked, his worry lines beginning to show more prominently. “Any information on who did it?”

“The statue of Fire Lord Ozai that was right near the school and not yet, Fire Lord.”

Zuko turned to Katara and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I need to leave immediately. I’ll have an airship sent to pick you and Toph up in two days like we originally planned.”

Katara shook her head. “This is serious. I’m coming with you to heal the people who got injured.”

Zuko nodded. “Alright. We’ll pack up and say goodbye to everyone and leave in exactly half of an hour.”

“I’ll go tell Toph.”

Zuko and Katara quickly went back to the reception to find Toph. In the middle of the crowd was a group of people banging drums to a traditional Southern Water Tribe beat as others were on the outside holding hands with one another to form a large circle and were dancing around the people with the instruments. They spotted Toph, conversing with the newly married couple that was sitting and holding hands. 

Toph mentioned that she had tried to get a conversation in with Aang earlier, but as soon as the drums started banging, the airbender went straight to dancing.

Zuko and Katara approached the group to inform them of what was happening. 

“Did you like the ceremony?” Suki asked.

“It was beautiful, but we have a problem. There has been a terror attack in the Fire Nation. People are okay, there weren't any deaths, some injuries, but we still need to go home to check everything out.” Zuko said, explaining the situation to those in the group that weren't aware of it.

“Oh, spirits. What happened?” Suki asked with a gasp.

“Nothing major, don't worry. Someone bombed the Ozai statue in Fire Fountain City. It must have happened a day or two after we left. It’s right near where the hospital is.” Zuko explained.

“Do you guys know who did it?” Sokka asked.

“Not yet.” Explained Katara, “That’s what we’re going to go back and find out.”

“Jokes on whoever did it,” Toph spoke with her bluntness as always. “That statue was ugly anyway.”

“Were you even able to tell what it looked like?” Sokka asked, being a little insensitive to Toph’s visual impairment.

“I could feel it a little bit, but I think that I can imagine the rest,” Toph explained and then stuck her tongue out at him.

Sokka took that moment to lighten the mood, which, looking back, probably wasn't the best thing to do after an attack like that, even if the bombers didn't end up killing anyone. “Those firebending pyromaniacs sure do know how to solve problems. Someone is annoying you? Set them on fire. Had a bad day? Set the calendar on fire. Can't figure out which pointy red outfit to wear? Set your whole entire wardrobe on fire and yourself while you're at it.”

Everyone else did their best to contain their giggling. Even Zuko had the corner of his mouth raised for a second. Zuko then excused himself to go get his things together to leave and thank Chief Hakoda one last time for the Southern Water Tribe’s hospitality. Toph left to pack up her stuff as well.

“Sokka, I'm going to go say hi to some of the guests,” Suki explained before leaving, giving the brother and sister a chance to talk by themselves before they'd have to say goodbye again, but of course, Suki made sure to hug her sister in law before she left to do that.

“You know what Katara, I really am happy that you're with Zuko, even though I was a little surprised when you first told me,” Sokka said, shifting the mood into an endearing one.

“Really?” Katara asked, a little surprised.

“Of course I am. Zuko is a good guy. But that doesn't mean that I won’t give him the big brother talk the next time that I see him.”

Katara laughed and nodded. “Okay, sounds good. Just make sure that you go easy on him, okay?”

Sokka’s grin widened. “Not a chance.” Both siblings laughed and then he stopped a little. “You seem happier with him than you were with Aang, and a lot happier than you were when you were stuck here before leaving for the Fire Nation to become an ambassador.”

“I am.” Katara agreed, “Okay, I should go get my stuff and go say goodbye to Gran Gran.”

“Promise that you'll write to us?”

“Of course.” The pair of Southern Water Tribe siblings hugged and she left to go do what she said that she would.

Katara’s next target to say goodbye to was Pakku and Gran Gran, which was filled with promises to visit again soon and hugs. Finally, Katara had caught up with her father. That goodbye had another hug of course and more conversation about the man that she was dating. “I made Zuko promise to be good to you.”

“He will be,” Katara reassured, still wrapped in her father’s large arms.

“He’s a good man. You should hold onto him.” Hakoda said, not yet releasing the hug.

“I think so too, and I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a short chapter, but a bonus update is still fun. :)
> 
> I got a couple of happy birthday messages on Tumblr and omg, you guys are so sweet!
> 
> I realized the stuff I was gonna put on the Pinterest board for this chapter, I accidentally put on the board two weeks ago, oh well lol. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr. https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> The next chapter will be posted next Tuesday (6/23).


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is a day late! Time has gotten away from me. Hopefully, the fact that this is a meatier chapter will make up for it. <3

Everyone in the Fire Nation seemed to be in a tizzy over the statue explosion. Zuko, acting as his role of Fire Lord, held a conference and spoke to the public about what happened and told everyone that everything was going to be okay, which calmed down the hysteria about fifty percent. There was a lot of speculation going around about who and why they made the explosion that caused the statue to go up in flames and why they did it. 

One of the most popular rumors was that it was done by a group of anti-Ozai anarchists that were also against Zuko’s reign and wanted to cause terror. There were also rumors that a group of people from another nation did it to start another war, which put Zuko and all of his advisors into a stressed-out state. It also made the upper-class citizens very unhappy.

_ “We need to do a background check on everyone who lives in the city!” One advisor said while waving his hands. _

_ “There’s no point. It was obviously a different nation that did it wanting to begin another war and drain our resources.” Another advisor said. _

_ “That doesn't make any sense,” said a third advisor. “Every nation is glad that the war is over and all of them have been too busy rebuilding their countries to form any kind of army!” _

_ Zuko, who had once again received a major headache from his advisors, had his pointer finger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. “I promise that there are guards working hard to find out who was behind the attack. For all we know, it could have been an accident. Right now we should be thankful that no one got badly injured and find the culprit instead of wasting our time arguing.” _

Unfortunately, they never really were able to figure out who did it. Two weeks had passed and the head of the royal guards had informed the Fire Lord of no news about the investigation that was taking place. There was still a small bit of statue left after the explosion, so Toph used her metal bending skills and abilities to bend the rest of the now cooled down metal away so that all that was left there where the statue once was the water covered by earth. Katara suggested it could be replaced with a different statue and Toph of course took that as an excuse to immediately bend from the earth a statue of herself. She only bent the earth back down to how it was previously after Katara reminded her that people will now think of the Ozai statue that previously had its place when they look at her rock form.

Katara met with the people who had gotten injured in the incident and helped heal their injuries, despite the fact that these injured citizens insisted that their injuries were very minor and that they didn't want to take up any of her time. She insisted that it was really no big deal and the five men agreed to comply and allow the waterbending master to heal them. The injuries that they received were mostly just bruising and slight burns from the hot pieces of metal that hit them during the explosion. They were lucky that it was all back, leg, and arm injuries and that none of the flying pieces had hit their heads, causing serious damage.

Eventually, when the hysteria over the explosion calmed down, the public’s rumors of something else got confirmed that caused all conversation to be about that. This of course came from the Fire Lord and his Southern Water Tribe Ambassador confirming their involvement with one another. It wasn't like the two had announced it to the public by arranging some grand meeting in the capital, but still, it became a big deal. 

Zuko started by telling his advisors that he and Katara were dating, and by the end of the day, everyone in the palace knew, and by the end of the week, it seemed like the whole entire Fire Nation knew. Some of the citizens still didn't believe it, but then the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador and the Fire Lord were seen attending the play together openly holding hands.

There was a vast array of reactions to the confirmation of Zuko and Katara dating that came from even inside the palace.

_ While rubbing at his front temple, Zuko began to question why it seemed lately (or always, actually) every advisor and councilmen meeting both started and ended with a migraine. _

_ “I guess that your relationship with the Southern Water Tribe woman could work to the Fire Nation’s advantage.” One advisor, who seemed like a particular headache-causing person, began saying. “Since she is the daughter of Chief Hakoda, she is technically Southern Water Tribe royalty and she could even possibly be given the title of ‘Princess of the Southern Water Tribe’ if her tribe so chooses to do so. But there must not be any nonbeneficial pandering to the Southern Water Tribe until a deal can be struck relating to a marriage agreement.” _

_ The Fire Lord did his best not to roll his eyes. The advisor that had spoken was one of the ones that seemed to be very unhappy when the rumors of him and Katara dating had started weeks ago. _

_ “There is far more to the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador than just being the chief's daughter,” another advisor brought up. This one was particularly joyous when Zuko had first informed the advisors of the news of him being involved with the waterbender. He, the advisor, viewed it as some sort of beautiful star-crossed affair taking place the Fire Lord and his ambassador, two people of opposing elements. _

_ “That’s right,” Zuko nodded. “And there will be no favoring of any kind. I only have our nation’s best interest at the forefront of my mind and part of that includes the retributions that we’re paying back after the war that our nation caused and has been spent the past two years repenting for and we will continue to do so.” _

_ Another advisor took that opportunity to speak. “When do you plan on getting married and how long after that do you plan to wait until you start producing an heir? Should we approach this as we would a political engagement or marriage?” _

_ Zuko allowed himself a single sigh. He couldn't help it.“We haven't discussed anything that far as we have just started to begin seeing one another, and no, no political arranged marriage will be taking place if we were to get married. Her culture is very against arranged and political marriages, as well as her family.” No matter how forward the answers that the Fire Lord gave, the advisors and councilmen still had questions and gave their opinions. _

Katara was also met with an array of mixed reactions when the people around the palace found out. She began to notice Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom dignitaries watching her more closely for some bizarre reason. There was a time where she was walking down the hallway and she passed by Zuko’s room, and the royal guard manning the station outside of the door whispered  _ ‘water peasant’  _ to himself under his breath, intending for Katara not to hear it.

Katara immediately turned around and gave the man a lecture about respect and equality, letting her Southern Water Tribe pride lead her words through the rant. She told the man that since she felt he shouldn't be fired, she wouldn't tell Zuko, who would have gotten angry and would have taken the news to the extreme for his disrespect to not only her, but to the entire Southern Water Tribe. She was proud of her heritage, and she wouldn't let the guard’s or anyone else’s disrespect get in the way of it. She did promise that if he said any sort of slur like that again though, she wouldn't hesitate to inform the Fire Lord and let him handle the matter in a way that he deemed to be fit for the situation.

The next day when Katara had lunch alone in her room, reading some scrolls, a female servant brought lunch to Katara, and as she handed it to the waterbender, she was glaring at her. Katara thanked the woman kindly for bringing her food after offering to do so earlier. But when the servant left, Katara threw the tart pie that was on top of the plate away, having a sneaking suspicion that the servant had spit in the food like Mai once mentioned. Katara’s stomach growled, but she sighed and ignored it.

Not all of the servants had acted harshly towards Katara at the news of her confirmed involvement with the Fire Lord, those were pretty mean and petty examples of the sparse negative treatment. Mostly, the royal servants around the castle were more persistently nicer to her. They did things like making her bed and offering to brush her hair for her. To Katara, it felt luxurious and nice, but a little uncomfortable. She told them that she was okay and that as nice as it was, she really didn't need them to be doing those things for her because she was capable of doing those things for herself and it was what was done in her culture back at home. The servants seemed confused and even a little upset, but ultimately agreed to honor Katara’s wishes to be independent.

Katara had told Thala all about this during their twice a week waterbending spar.

_ “That’s weird, the way those servants were actin’ and all that, but I guess it makes sense since they're assumin’ that you're about to become the Firelady, no matter how much you and the Fire Lord tell them that that’s far from your minds,” Thala said. _

_ Katara nodded. “Yeah. But that's not even the worst part of all of this or even the worst reaction to the news that Zuko and I are dating.” Katara explained, sending a quick water whip Thala’s way with a grunt. “Haruk decided to apologize for his constant flirting and borderline harassment.” _

_ “Really? How is that bad?” Thala asked, returning the water whip around her shoulders and back. _

_ “He did it in the most chauvinistic way. He apologized to Zuko for it and not to me, even though I was standing right beside him.” Katara explained. _

_ Thala snorted. “Of course he did. That man is even slimier than a cat gator covered in deep swamp mud.” Then a wolfish smile slowly crept onto Thala’s face, “But despite all of this, there's always one of the positives is that next blue moon, you can sneak into his chamber and the guards will allow it without any questions. In fact, you don’t even gotta wait for the blue moon to be up in the sky, you can go in at any time you're feeling like it.” She finished the statement with a wink. Despite the blush on her face, Katara laughed. “That's true.” _

Despite the fact that they announced that they were dating, the only time that they really had a chance to spend time with one another in the past week was when they attended and went and saw the play that Ursa’s husband directed, due to Zuko dealing with the flame bomb and statue incident and whole ordeal and Katara preparing for the opening coming up so soon and meeting with everyone that will be working at the hospital there one final time.

Thankfully, they got one more moment together to go over the official business and also act as boyfriend and girlfriend in their relationship. Zuko and Katara sat across from each other at a small wooden table facing one another that midday, wearing more casual clothes, or at least as casual of clothing that Zuko could get away with as the Fire Lord. The two of them were drinking sweet peppermint and ginger root tea and were talking. At another table, Toph and Iroh were playing Pai Sho inside the Jasmine Dragon tea shop and chatting about Toph being inspired by the hospital being opened and wanting to maybe open her own metalbending school someday.

“With everything that has happened, you know, in Fire City and all of the shock that came from it, do you think that we should push the hospital opening day back a week?” Katara asked, nibbling on a couple of melon seeds. After thinking for a second, she added to her original question. “Or maybe we should move the opening date up? You know, since everything has seemed to have calmed down a bit, maybe opening the hospital earlier will smooth out the Fire Nation’s stress and tension a lot quicker.”

Zuko tilted his head slightly and looked up at the wooden ceiling of the tea shop. “I don't know. I think that changing the date might be a bigger hassle and end up causing more stress. Besides, we already told all of the employees and the healers attending the event the time, and they wouldn't have enough time to change their traveling plans.” Zuko noticed Katara’s teacup was empty and picked up the teapot and refilled her cup with the warm tea that Iroh had brewed and made and prepared earlier.

Katara thanked him for refilling her cup and nodded, “You’re right. It’s best to keep the opening date where it is.”

Zuko smiled. “I can tell that you're really excited for the hospital to be officially opened.” He paused, “I know I asked you this before, but when the hospital opens, are you sure that you're going to be okay and not too overworked while being both the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador and a healer at the hospital?”

Katara smiled a warm smile at his concern. It was sweet and endearing, even if it was a little bit foolish and hypocritical since he was the Fire Lord and all, and if there was anyone with too much on their plate at times, it was him. “I’ll be fine. All of the things that I’ll be doing are things that I want to do and enjoy doing. I want to learn more about different types of healing practices. Learning from Thala has been amazing and it has made me even more curious. Plus there will be even more for us to talk about when we see each other.”

Zuko smiled even bigger and nodded. Her left hand was intertwined with his right one. Her smooth tan thumb was rubbing soft circles around the back of his hand. Their feet and legs were also touching underneath the table and were lightly pressed against one another’s. Nothing about it was sexual, but it was nice and casually romantic and comforting for both of them.

“I’m so glad that I have you around.” Zuko said smiling. It was honest. Looking back, Zuko had no idea how he survived the last two years as the Fire Lord without having Katara around. As a romantic partner or just as a friend.

Katara’s back straightened a bit more as she beamed. “I’m thankful to have you around too, I’m lucky that you're not as annoying as you come across.” She teased.

The moment was so nice. The atmosphere around them was so nice. Zuko thought it would be the perfect moment to tell her, even if there were other people sitting around the tea shop, they didn't matter, because at that moment it was just the two of them. Zuko gulped and he opened his mouth to say the three words that were pressing at his mind, but his nerves got the best of him and he closed his mouth before he spoke the full sentence out. “I- nevermind.” He shook his head.

Katara tilted her head and raised an eyebrow higher than the other one. “What? What were you about to say?”

“Um,” He glanced around before returning his eyes back to meet hers. “I was going to ask if you wanted to play a game of Pai Sho.” He hoped she bought the lie.

“Sure. Prepare to lose.”

It was the evening in the Fire Nation that felt like Katara waited forever for and yet it crept up on her so quickly. They were in Fire Fountain City, which was decorated with lanterns to celebrate the evening’s accomplishment that was being celebrated that evening. She was standing outside of the finally now completed hospital, that so many people, including Katara and Toph worked so hard to build. The hospital building was a large brown building with two stories. It was big. Not  _ hidden library _ big, but still big. It had red trim and a roof that curled upwards like other traditional Fire Nation architecture. Red glowing lanterns adorned the building and there was a sign at the front that read  _ ‘PAINTED LADY HOSPITAL’ _ .

Everyone that was in attendance of the event, which was mostly the healers who would be working there, some advisors and councilmen, the royal guards, and some of the Fire Nation citizens that were frequenters at The Jasmine Dragon, were wearing nice clothes to match the evening’s atmosphere of celebration.The clothes were not as nice and as formal as the clothing that the upper-class citizens wore to the charity ball, but still everyone looked nice. Katara was sporting a light purple dress with a white hem that once belonged to Princess Yue, who was showing herself that night in the full moon that was up in the sky that had yet to become dark. Chief Arnook and his wife had gifted her the dress a while ago as well as some other things of their daughter’s possessions a while ago right after the war was over and she and Aang visited the Northern Water Tribe.

One of the people that were there in attendance was Katara’s grandmother who was there standing and chatting with Yugoda, the woman who taught Katara the basics of healing bending while she was at the Northern Water Tribe. Both of the women were in attendance to help train the healers there the Northern and Southern Water Tribe basics of healing and were staying to do so for a week before returning to their homes in the north and south pole.

Katara hugged both of the women. “I’m so happy that you guys were able to come!”

“Of course we were able to Katara, we know how important this is to you.” Kanna answered.

Yugoda nodded. “And it’s such a great idea that you came up with.”

Katara smiled and wrapped a hand back around Zuko’s bicep and with her other hand, she gestured to the Northern Water Tribe woman. “Zuko, this is Yugoda, she was the person who taught me healing in the Northern Water Tribe before I started formally learning the fighting style bending with Pakku.”

Zuko nodded and gave a short bow. “Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for being here.”

Katara watched as the woman blushed at Zuko’s unrealized charm and smiled. “Of course, Fire Lord. It’s so nice to meet you too.”

Gran Gran had taught Katara a lot of non-bending traditional water tribe healing while growing up. There are two other primary healers in the Southern Water Tribe as well, but they stayed home so that Kanna could go and teach and support her granddaughter and they stayed at home in case of any injury or birth happens while Kanna is gone. There were other people from both the North and the South that came with them to stay and work at the hospital permanently. The ones from the Southern Water Tribe Katara met at her brother and Suki’s wedding. They all seemed excited to begin working as healers in the Fire Nation, which made both Zuko and Katara incredibly happy.

They walked around greeting other people, thanking them for coming and being involved in the hospital work. They were catching up with people and everybody congratulated her and Zuko about their relationship, to which they both responded with a gracious thank you.

Ursa was there as well, while her husband was at home watching Kiyi. She wore a silk scarf that lightly concealed the bottom half of her face to hide so that there was less of a chance that she would be recognized. It was that same reason that only Katara went up and greeted her, while Zuko chatted with Toph and Thala.

“Hey,” Katara gave the woman a side hug. They were a little away from other people besides one woman who was having a conversation with the former Fire Princess when Katara walked up. “Thank you so much for coming.”

Ursa wore a smile on her face. “Of course. I’m still so honored that you asked me to be a part of this.” Ursa placed her hand on the older woman standing beside her. “This is my friend who is the herbalist from Taku that I mentioned to you that will be working beside me.” Ursa stepped closer to Katara and whispered, in case anyone else was listening in, even though it didn't appear that anyone was. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. She knows who I am. She’s a close friend.”

Katara turned to the woman. “Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for being here and for your help.” Katara asked.

She waved her hand. “No problem. I actually know your friend the avatar pretty well. He once came to me a couple of years ago and borrowed some frozen wood frogs. My cat took a liking to him.”

Katara connected the dots in her mind. “Oh! Thank you for lending those to him. I actually think that those frogs were used to heal my brother and I.”

The older woman’s wrinkles around her eyes wrinkled more as her smile grew bigger. “I’m glad.”

When Katara moved on, to talk to other people, Zuko introduced Katara to a young woman who was speaking fondly with Iroh and appeared to be very kind and sweet that he had invited to work at the hospital. “Katara, this is Song. She is the girl from the farming village that helped my uncle when we were banished.”

Katara shook hands with Song and the Earth Kingdom girl spoke. “He left out part of the story. We, my mother and I, had no idea who he or his uncle was after we healed them. Afterward, they stole two of my family’s ostrich horses. When Zuko became Fire Lord, he sent my family six ostrich horses to replace the two that were stolen. And Iroh visited and made us at least three pots of tea for us as an apology and also a thanks.”

Katara laughed and glanced at Zuko who was blushing, before returning her eye contact to Song. “Sounds like something Zuko would do. Same goes for Iroh.”

It got closer to the time for the hospital doors to open so that everyone could go in and see the inside of the new hospital. Katara stood by the hospital’s sign and began her prepared speech. She was feeling a lot more confident about this one than the one at the charity ball, even though she had gotten attacked last time.

“Hello everyone, I um- I have some stuff to say.” Not too much more confident, but a little. “I’m so glad you were all able to be here.” She took a deep breath. “The idea of this hospital stemmed from a lot of different things. Fire Lord Zuko and I came up with this idea because of our past experiences and from knowing the needs that a large quantity of the citizens of the Fire Nation faces, as well as the cultural learning of health that other nations want and were blocked from in the past hundred years. In the Southern Water Tribe, the position of healer isn't a paying job and instead is a job given by the Chief and is paid for by the people of the tribe together. When I traveled to the Northern Water Tribe with my brother and Aang, I learned that it’s similar there as well. While I was there I learned about how waterbending can be used for healing and discovered that I was part of a select few waterbenders that had the ability to heal the way with water that I could and it was very honoring.” She made eye contact with her Gran Gran and Yugoda and smiled. “Zuko, the Fire Lord, has also told me about how when him and his uncle, Former General Iroh, were banished and were refugees in the Earth Kingdom, there were people who treated their injuries free of charge, knowing that they had no money.

“The goals that we have for this hospital stem from those experiences. This hospital is the first federal and nonprivate hospital in the Fire Nation, working to help people and not for profit. This way, those who are injured and may not be able to pay the large sum that higher class dignitaries would for private physician work, can have access to the hospital and it will be helped paid for through the health plan that the Fire Lord had placed out. We also plan to turn this hospital into a school where people who are interested in becoming healers can become one and people who are healers from other nations can learn from one another and find the best ways to help that works for each injury.

“I’m so thankful to everyone that has worked with me and worked so hard to make it happen, especially in such a short time. To all of the people who have traveled here from other nations, let me be the first to welcome you to the Fire Nation. We’re glad to have you.” Everyone clapped and cheered loudly. Katara took a step closer to the large wooden doors. “Now, let us all go inside and see the amazing work that the construction crew has done.”

Right as Katara reached for the door handle, all of the fire and light in the street lamps and lanterns at once vanished. It left the place being significantly darker as it was now late evening. Noises of confusion came from the crowd, thankfully people were still able to see from the light coming from the setting sun and the light being reflected off of the full moon.

One of the doors to the front of the hospital opened from the inside and a large man dressed in black grabbed at Katara. Katara struggled but the sneak attack caught her off guard. He tried to call out to the crowd for help, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of a bomb going off, and a nearby building crumbled apart in a heap of smoke that came over the crowd. People were now screaming and there were sounds of crying. Those sounds became even more prevalent when another bomb went off and then another one. Now all of the three surrounding buildings were crumbling to the ground and there was smoke in the air that was making it hard to see through. People started running, trying to get away, some were already injured from the explosive debris that hit them. People who lived in the city were running outside and when they saw what was happening, they ran back inside to warn their families and hide.

The Fire Nation Guards came more into view, but they immediately started attacking the people in the crowd that weren't able to flee. They were the only ones who weren't coughing and choking on the thick dark air. The guards were corralling people, telling them to put their hands up and follow them, and when people tried to fight back, the guards burned them, turning the sound in the air into even louder more frequent screams.

Katara frequently looked around for her grandmother and when she didn't see her anywhere, she didn't know whether to feel relieved or feel even more panicked. Her heartbeat increased and her panicked uneven breaths grew shallower. What she did spot was Zuko being held by three men, one of which seemed to have used chi blocking on him. She also saw Toph, lifted off the ground by two men in royal guard uniforms, making it impossible for the blind girl to sense anything. The worst thing she spotted though was a group of guards pulling a now blindfolded Iroh and Ursa away. One of the guards spoke Ursa’s name, telling her to shut up

_ ‘Oh Yue, they know who she is!’  _ Katara began hyperventilating, and that's when she recognized the faces of those guards pulling Iroh and Ursa away as the guards that went with Zuko and Katara to visit Ursa and also went with them when they went to the Southern Water Tribe for the wedding.

Behind Katara, the hospital burst into flames. A rag with an ether-like odor was shoved into her face and everything around Katara got blurry and then faded to black. As her eyes closed, she heard Zuko say something and then felt a sharp poking at the side of her neck and a deep voice said, “Keep struggling and we kill her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, only three chapters left of this story! That's crazy!
> 
> I added a section to the Pinterest board titled 'Painted Lady Hospital'. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> My Tumblr https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> The next chapter will be posted next Tuesday (6/30).


	19. Finale Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey! Welcome back!

Katara woke up in a cold darkly lit cell she recognized as being part of the prison that was under the Fire Nation palace. She was laying on the hard ground and she groaned as her memory of what had transpired at the hospital opening came to her. A guard must have brought her to the cell. Laying behind her was a knocked out Toph and Zuko. Their clothing looked disheveled like they had been fighting and Zuko’s Fire Lord crown was missing. Katara crawled over to the two and began frantically trying to wake them up. Both the firebender and earthbender arose with a groan.

From the cell across from them stood Aiguo, who Zuko had commanded be sent to the boiling rock, but after what happened earlier that evening, his guards going against his orders really wasn't a surprise at that point. “You’ve only been out for about twenty minutes, which is a surprisingly fast recovery from being smothered with chloroform.” The nasally voice of the man said.

The three of them ignored him for the moment and asked each other if they were okay. They all confirmed that yes they were fine and they remembered what happened. Zuko lifted his arm and made a flame in his palm. “My bending is back. Whoever tried to chi block me isn't as good at it as Ty Lee is.” They didn't have time to figure out everything that just happened to them, so they didn't and moved on, wanting to waste no time in capturing the guards and making sure those citizens and people visiting were safe.

Katara quickly checked each one of them over for injuries. There was definitely going to be some bruising, but nothing too major. She turned her attention to the psychologist, her eyes narrowed in a glare as she glared at him through the metal gridded bars. She bent the sweat off of her and her companions’ bodies and froze it into a dagger and pointed it at the man. “Why are you still here? What do you know about what’s happening?”

The man gulped but answered. “I don't really know where to start.”

Katara pushed the icicle a little closer to his jugular. “Well, obviously those weren't only rebel guards acting out. Start there and then tell us where you come into this and who else does.”

Aiguo sighed, and gave a very slight nod, careful not to impale himself. “They weren't just royal guards that are against your reign,” Using his eyebrows, he gestured to Zuko. “There are also some soldiers out there who were in the war in high rankings and were praised for it in Ozai’s reign. When you became Fire Lord, they wanted the glory and rewards and praise to continue, but instead, because of the horrible things they did, their war efforts turned into what was viewed as shameful mistakes and actions.”

“He isn't lying,” Toph said.

Aiguo looked at her with a raised brow and narrowed eyes, unaware of her lie-detecting ability. “There are also royal guards and other soldiers that are in that resistance that I assume attacked everyone back out there. One of the members of that allegiance is the man who is in charge of and the head of all the royal guards, who I’m sure that you're aware is a frequent customer of Former General Iroh’s tea shop. Some want all of the immigrants out of our country, some are strong supporters of Fire Lord Sozin’s original plan, and some want Azula on the throne.”

“So basically, we gotta go out there and take them all out. Got it.” Toph said, cracking her knuckles, and not wanting to waste time and started bending the metal of the jail cell away.

“Toph, wait,” Zuko said. “There’s obviously more to the story and we need to know everything that we're up against and form a plan so that innocent people don't get hurt.”

“Fine.” Toph huffed and wrapped her arms across each other in front of her chest and leaned back against the jail cell wall.

“Continue,” Katara commanded, not once taking her eyes off of the man.

“The man who leads the guards isn't the leader of this whole rebellion,” Aiguo said. “There are some Fire Nation dignitaries that are in on the plan who profited financially off of the war because Fire Lord Ozai let them get away with it. This whole thing was because they and Advisor Zahr, are against the idea of having to pay higher taxes to provide healthcare for the lower class citizens that would be using your hospital.”

“So Advisor Zahr is behind all of this?” Katara asked. 

“Yes. He put it all together.” The psychologist nodded.

“And how did you get involved in all of this?” Toph asked and then spit out some saliva in her mouth, making her look tougher.

“Advisor Zahr reached out to me, offering a high profit that I couldn't refuse. He knew that Azula needed to start sessions with a psychologist and knew that I was the most qualified one in the Fire Nation, so he asked me.”

Things began to click in Katara’s brain. “When your house got bombed?”

“It was under Advisor Zahr’s instruction so that I could move into the palace and begin the work of molding Azula’s mind earlier. I worked to form her into both the perfect evil dictator to lead this country but still a political puppet whose mind could be manipulated.”

Zuko’s jaw tightened and his nostrils flared.

“Zahr knew to request me after you spoke to your Uncle about it at the Jasmine Dragon and one of the soldiers heard. We learned about all of the hospital plan making from persuading a drunk man at a bar to tell us the hospital’s layout and construction plans.”

Katara mentally facepalmed.  _ ‘Haruk. Those two men at the bar.’ _

“Releasing Azula at the ball was really only one phase of the plan to have Azula escape and Katara killed as an advantage if she was unable to heal herself. But then, even though I was Advisor Zahr’s right-hand man, he turned on me and had me imprisoned. It made me out to be the perfect scapegoat when I got caught and he had the guards arrest me, but he made sure that I stayed down here so that I could continue shaping Princess Azula’s mind. Instead of me receiving financial rewards, I had to do it or else he would make sure I was killed.”

Katara did her best to make sure that her sympathy did not show. This man was still clearly a villain. 

Katara glanced over at Zuko. He had a contemplative look on his face. “The bomb that destroyed your house was the same kind of bomb that sent the statue of my father up in flames.”

“Yes,” Aiguo confirmed with an evil grin, “The same people created them and set them to go off, people that I was informed by one of the guards that you healed,” he pointed to Katara and she felt sick, but again, worked hard on showing no weakness in front of this man. “The Fire Lord Ozai statue bomb that went off was used to cause an onset of hysteria and paranoia in people’s minds.” 

Katara’s left eye twitched. That’s why the case of who set the bomb off was never solved. Because the guards who were on the case who investigated it, already knew exactly who did it, but would never tell.

“So I'm guessing the plan for us is to keep us down here and make sure no one can find us until a Fire Nation civil war has started.” Toph scoffed.

“More than that,” Aiguo clarified. “Somewhere along the line, they also had planned to kill Fire Lord Zuko and find a way to blame it on you two, turning the civil war into a world war.”

“What do they plan on doing with my Uncle and my mother?”

“Possibly hold them for ransom, but mostly they were captured to be questioned about royal family secrets.”

“Where’s Azula now?” Zuko asked. His breathing was heavy and his nostrils were flaring. Katara put a hand on his arm, but it didn’t change anything.

Aiguo appeared a little shaken by the Fire Lord’s visible anger, but he kept his cool calm exterior. “Zahr had her kidnapped and sedated.”

A fireball formed in Zuko’s fist and he looked like he fully intended on using it. The sound of air whipping stopped him dead in his place. A flying lemur rushed to them and onto Katara’s shoulder followed by Aang’s voice. “Toph? Katara? Zuko? Anyone down here?”

“Aang! We’re down here!” Katara called out and around the corner came Aang wearing his traditional orange and yellow clothing. He stood outside of the cell. “What’s going on?”

Toph was the first to respond.“Well, we’ve been locked up, as you can probably see.” She leaned closer to Zuko and out of the corner of her mouth asked, “Have all avatars been this oblivious?” To which Zuko responded by shrugging.

Aang defended himself. “Well, it’s not like I've been here to see how you got into this situation. Plus none of you ever wrote to me so I had no idea that anything was happening anyway.” The lemur moved back onto Aang's shoulder.

The other prisoner spoke. “Your mail has been intercepted at both ends. It was decided that with no letters to or from the avatar, he wouldn't be an opponent that would need to be worried about. Also if you ever wrote him and asked for help, he wouldn't get it and think that you were ignoring him and vice versa, and he wouldn't be here for the final execution of the plan.” Aiguo observed the airbender. “I guess it didn't work.”

Aang's features darkened. He turned around and faced his friends like he was previously. Before he spoke though, Toph bent the metal down and each of them gave the boy a quick hug. “What tipped you off to get here, Twinkle Toes?” Toph asked.

“After all of the wedding hype and their honeymoon was over, Sokka and Suki told me that there was a statue bombing in Fire Fountain City. I had a bad feeling, so I asked Ty Lee if the Kyoshi warriors wanted to come to check out what was going on. They were already planning on becoming the Fire Lord’s personal guards when I showed up and suggested that they come and offer extra temporary service to the Fire Lord.”

“They came with you?” Katara asked, “Where are they now?”

“I dropped them off in Fire Fountain City when we saw all of the panic that was happening and then I immediately went to try and find you guys. I was only able to find you because Ty Lee interrogated one of the men that were wearing all black. They’re doing their best to fix things without knowing what is going on.” Aang explained.

Katara turned her attention back to the psychologist, pointing her icicle back at him. “Where is Zahr right now?”

Aiguo complied, keeping his eyes on the weapon, “I don't know for sure since the plan could have been changed since they put me down here, but I think that he’d be in his second home that's in Fire Fountain City. We used it as a planning base to plan everything.”

“True,” Toph said.

“Where in Fire Fountain City is it?” Katara asked. 

When he didn't respond right away, Zuko formed fire in his fist again, making it an even more threatening interrogation.

“It’s right next to where the Ozai statue was, facing away from the market. It’s the gray house.”

Zuko nodded and turned to the three other people around him. “Let’s go.” 

They started their sprint down the hall, but Aiguo called out for them. “Wait! I’ve given you all the information, you should let me go. I think that I’ve earned my redemption!”

Zuko turned back to the man with a scowl on his face, obviously not happy with the statement that the jailed man had spoken. “Redemption? You haven't  _ earned it.  _ You’ve been given it, but just because you're given a chance at redemption, doesn't mean that you're given forgiveness.  _ You manipulated the fragile mind of my friend to have another one of my friends killed as a distraction to kidnap my younger sister.  _ The problem is that you were a willing participant in Advisor Zahr’s plans in the first place.”

Katara stepped forward and added, “You obviously only helped us out of spite at your fellow conspirators. You haven't learned anything yet. We’re not going to let you go just for you to continue doing terrible crimes and hurting people for your own selfish gain. So, thank you for what you've told us, but we will be leaving you in here.”

With that, the group ran down the hallway, leaving him in his cell as they headed to Appa. 

While on Appa to the quick flight to Fire Fountain City, the other three quickly explained to Aang everything that had been going on. While listening, Aang nodded and called for Appa to go even faster. It was important that they got back as quickly as they could.

When they arrived back at the sight of the crumbling hospital buildings, they were met with the sight of Kyoshi Warriors and a couple of the waterbenders that had come to work as healers at the hospital, using the water from the houses to put out the fire from the burning hospital building. As Katara was getting off the air bison, she used her own waterbending skills to help as well. With all of them working on the fire, it soon fizzled out quickly.

Katara Called for all the Kyoshi warriors, Zuko, Toph, and Aang to come around her so they could strategize.

“Zuko, what’s going on? We saw that the hospital was on fire and set to action immediately.” Ty Lee asked.

“There’s not really any time to explain,” Zuko said and then turned to his three friends that already knew the entire story.

“I have a plan,” Katara said, feeling a little unsure and really wishing that she had the strategic plan-making skills that her brother did.

“Is it a good one?” Toph asked.

“It’s… a plan.”

“Good enough. Let's hear it.”

Everyone huddled around Katara as she spoke. She gave an extremely brief rundown of what was going on and then assigned different things for people to do. “Ty Lee, could you and the Kyoshi warriors round up all of the guards and the people dressed in all black. None of the guards here are on our side. Knock them out if you need to, but make sure that they won't take too long to wake up again. If something goes wrong, we need to be able to question them.”

“You can count on us.” Ty Lee promised with a nod.

“I'll start making a rock pit prison to keep the guards in after we capture them where the old Ozai statue was, that way it's also right by Zahr’s house,” Toph said, cracking her knuckles.

Katara nodded. “Good idea. Also, can you guys, “ she said referring to the Kyoshi warriors, “find and look for people that the guards have rounded up earlier? You guys will need to get them to safety and put them on Appa so that Aang can fly them to the Fire Nation Palace. It will probably take multiple trips so if you need help, Ty Lee, you know where Reyan lives, get her.” Ty Lee nodded and gave a salute and then signaled for the girls dispersed. 

Aang and Toph left to do their roles, leaving just Zuko and Katara. “Go find Iroh and your mom.” She said. “Make sure that they're okay.”

Zuko’s eyebrows were brought together and there were worry lines prominent around his mouth. “What are you going to do?” 

“I’m going to go find Zahr and Azula,” Katara answered while worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. They both knew that it would end up being a lot more complicated than how she simply described it.

Zuko nodded. “Okay. You got this, remember that. You’re unstoppable.”

Katara nodded and quickly reached up and rested her hand on Zuko’s cheek and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. “Stay safe, okay? Watch your back, since you're the Fire Lord, they’re especially going to try and kill you.”

Zuko nodded. “I will.” He gave her one more kiss and they ran off in opposite directions, Zuko towards the rubbled mess of the falling apart buildings and Katara ran towards where she now knew where Advisor Zahr would be.

Katara approached the large gray building that Aiguo described to her very carefully and cautiously, hiding behind different bushes and other kinds of shrubbery. There appeared to be guards guarding both the front and back door, meaning that really her only option to get inside the building without taking the guards out would be to find a way to scale up the side of the building and then enter through a window. Otherwise, she would make an unnecessary commotion which would end up alerting everyone and other guards that she was there.

She moved around to the side of the building and was met with Thala. The Foggy Swamp woman had a man seemingly unconscious by her feet and had another man against the wall with one of her fists in his shirt, other hand pressing his shoulder into the wall. Even though the man was much taller and bigger than Thala, she clearly had the advantage in the situation. Katara looked at the men and almost immediately recognized them as the two men that Katara saw in the bar that day when Haruk tried to trick her into going on a date with her. 

Thala noticed Katara approaching from her left side and smiled. “Hey Water Sister, this kind man here and his friend, after tryin’ to take mah somewhere and gropin’ mah in the process, was kind enough to tell mah everything that's been goin’ on down here in the City and the attack.” She turned back to the man. “Was there anythin’ else that ya wanted to add?” 

The man shook his head no, fear in his eyes. Thala grinned. “Good. Grab a woman’s ass again without gettin’ permission first again and y’all will get castrated. Ah will even hunt ya down and do it mahself and keep ya balls as a trophy.” Thala said before punching the man in the nose and then pushing him to the ground to lay there and quietly moan in pain.

Katara watched Thala step over both men’s bodies and closer to her. “What ya need mah to help ya with?” 

“The front and back entrances of this building are blocked and Zahr and Azula are inside.”

“Got ya.” Thala said and plantbent the ivy vines on the side of the building down making it into a ladder made of greenery. They climbed up, Katara going up first and Thala following and they entered through the large open window, pushing the red curtain aside. Once in the empty room, Katara held up a pointer finger up to her mouth. Unfortunately, when Katara stepped forward the wooden floor creaked loudly. Passing in the hallway was a woman that Katara thought she remembered to be Advisor Zahr’s snobby wife that she met at the charity ball. She looked into the room and when she saw the two waterbending women trying to sneak around, the woman yelled and alerted everyone on that floor of the house, if not everyone in the entire building, that they were there.

Without a beat, four large muscular men came running into the room and immediately began their attack. Three of them started their first attack with firebending, two using fire daggers and one using a fire blade. The one that wasn't bending lodged at Thala and began pulling her by her hair. The two women did their very best to fight them off, but Katara knew that they were outnumbered and they hadn’t even reached Zahr yet. She blocked their attacks with an ice shield using the water from the water skin strapped around her waist. They did what they could but it wasn't enough. She whispered “ _ Forgive me, Yue _ '' and with the power of the full moon that was high in the sky, she reached out with her bending for the blood of the four men and bloodbent the men up off the floor and dropped them out the window. She didn't feel too bad dropping them out of the window since they were only on the second floor, but as one man was being flung out the window and away from the two women, he grab forward as best as he could while his body was in someone else’s control and successfully was able to grab at Katara's water skin from around her waist and snatch it away with him out of the window.

Thala looked at her in awe and Katara was thankful that it wasn't a disturbed expression painted on her face, instead, she gave the same one that Zuko did when he saw her blood bend the first time on Yon Rha. “I'll explain later,” Katara said, her tone a bit sad and desperate. “Please don't tell anyone.”

Thala nodded and put her hands up. “Hey, Ah ain’t here to judge.”

They hurried to the window and looked out of it. Outside on the ground was a pile of men that were completely knocked out. Thala still bent the vines up and closed the window in case any of the men woke up and wanted to reenter the way they did and none of the Kyoshi warriors had come by yet to collect them and place them in Toph’s rock prison.

They forgot about the frail older woman that was watching in pure horror. Katara approached her and spoke softly and sternly, “We’re not going to hurt you, tell us where your husband is.”

She scowled but complied and pointed down the hallway to the stairs, “The first floor.”

“Thanks for the help, ma’am, we appreciate it, even if ya did try to get those four men to attack us. Ah guess it's fair though since we did break into your home an’ all.” Thala said and walked out of the room, pulling Katara out with her. She pushed the woman into the room. 

“We’ll call it even,” Katara said and then closed the bedroom door and locked it.

They sprinted down the hallway and down the staircase running only with the pads of their feet and toes touching the floor so that their steps were quiet and wouldn't alert whoever was on the first floor with Zahr and Azula that they were coming. The bottom floor seemed to have a lot more room than the second floor did, or at least it felt that way since they didn't really get a good look around when they were up there and now they were frantically trying to look around and listen through the doors for Advisor Zahr’s voice or anyone’s voice that could cue them in where he and Azula were. 

They listened and heard the voice of the man that they were looking for at the end of the hallway.

_ “As a little girl, you definitely aren't the best option that we have to lead this nation, but I don't need you for that quite yet. Besides, you're the only option that I have anyway.” _

Katara felt the small shred of protectiveness that she had for the girl who was the sister of her significant other grow. She put all of her weight into the heel of her foot and kicked down the door out of its frame.

As Zuko ran towards the exploded rubble of what were formally buildings, he turned to look at Katara one last time and said a quick prayer to Agni that they would both make it out of this alive as well as everyone that they loved and were trying to save. He told himself that they would. He repeated it again and believed it less the second time. He clenched his fists and picked up speed. 

He approached the area and saw that it seemed to be sparse of any people. He turned to look in a different direction and saw a guard behind him that was obviously scared to see him telling by the anxious look on his face. The guard was trembling but lit a fire in his palm to attack. 

Zuko took advantage of the young man’s nerves and jumped up into the air and kicked him in the chest. It propelled him backward and caused him to land in a sitting position. Zuko kicked the man back so that he was laying down kneeled down on the ground and placed his knee on the man’s chest and pressed his weight down, making the boy cough.

Despite the boy’s nervous exterior, he still lashed at Zuko’s face with a whip of glowing hot orange fire. Zuko ducked out of the way, but it still hit his shoulder leaving behind a burning sensation and a pink mark. Zuko hissed and flipped the man so that he now had his chest and front pressed into the dirty and dusty ground. The Fire Lord pulled the man’s arms behind his back and kept them there, rendering him unable to move. “Tell me. Where are my uncle and my mother?”

“Your mother?” The guard asked. His head was turned to the side so that his face wasn’t pressed into the dirt. His eyes widened, and Zuko watched as Ursa’s identity clicked in his mind. “They’re in a bunker basement underneath the first exploded building.”

“Which was?” Zuko asked, losing his patience. He pressed him harder.

“The one farthest from us. There’s a metal door that's concealing it and when you open it and go down the stairs there's a room.”

Zuko got up off the boy. “You did the honorable thing by telling me. Now give me the uniform you're wearing and trade clothes with me, and maybe you'll have a little bit more honor back.” 

The boy nodded and did as he was instructed and Zuko immediately started pulling on the clothing as the other guy took them off piece by piece. The boy also handed over two back straps containing two sheaths filled with a set of double broadswords. Zuko concluded that in the most twisted and sarcastic sense, it must have been his lucky day. When completely dressed- including the helmet mask that he didn't really make the guards wear anymore and all- he turned back to the boy. “It's obvious to me that you're just a young boy who got caught up with the wrong people. For that, I will let you go, but now go back to your family and confess everything and apologize to them for the shame you could have brought to their name.”

The young man, still shaking, nodded, and ran. “Yes, Fire Lord.”

Zuko watched him go and really hoped that he didn't make a mistake by letting the boy go. He didn't think he did, but he guessed that he would find out eventually.

Now dressed and fully equipped as a guard, Zuko followed the boy’s instructions and found the door. He crept down the stairs and was met with the sight of three royal guards standing around the room, one of which was the head of the royal guards who was one of only two who he trusted with knowing who Ursa was. Another was the guard with thick eyebrows that was always stationed outside of Azula’s cell. Zuko made a mental note to beat himself over that mistake later when his uncle and mother were not blindfolded and tied down to the chairs. Katara’s grandmother, who was also blindfolded, was standing in front of the head of the royal guards that was holding her arms behind the frail older woman’s back. Iroh appeared to also be gagged, probably in the hope to enable him from performing his signature breath of fire.

Zuko approached and because of his disguise, nobody gave him a second glance. Underneath the mask, Zuko smirked and then breathed a silent sigh of relief that besides some bruises, the three captives looked okay. All of those feelings of relief drained away instantly though when Zuko heard what the guard holding Kanna said.

“Remove their blindfolds.” The rest of them followed instruction and Ursa and Iroh and Kanna blinked, finally able to see and readjusting to the dim light. The evil cruel man pushed Kanna forward to be right in front of Iroh. “Alright almighty all-powerful  _ Dragon of the West _ , You know this Water Tribe savage, right?”

Iroh nodded, as calm and collected as always, showing no signs of any panicked emotions.

“Burn her.” The man said with an evil laugh. “I am aware that you still have very powerful bending abilities. We’ll give you two options: you can kill the waterbender’s grandmother or we kill her and blame it on you and tell the world that you reached back into your violent past. Oh, but if you take the second option, we will kill Princess Ursa as well. We have to get this war started somehow.”

Iroh didn't say anything, he stayed silent like before but now his face displayed disgust.

The head of the guards shrugged. “Alright then.” He pulled out his sword, but before the blade went through Kanna’s body, Zuko stepped forward and blocked the blade with one of the ones from his double broadswords. 

“What the hell?” The guard said and Zuko shoved him away, letting Kanna go. The other guards in the room started closing in on Zuko and Kanna didn't move, probably not knowing whether to trust this guard or not even if he did save her life.

Zuko noticed the hesitation and to signal who he was, he faced her and put one hand over one side of the mask over his eye. Kanna’s eyes widened in the realization of who was under the suit and nodded her head, signalizing to him that she knew. Unfortunately, while Zuko was doing that, a guard came up behind him and put him in a chokehold. Zuko quickly flipped the guard over his body so that the guard landed on his back and groaned in pain before getting back up. He turned and with his broadswords, attacked the third guard that came up from behind as the first one did. Zuko had the upper hand in their shuffle for a couple of moments but one of the guards that were still on the floor grabbed at one of his feet causing him to trip and the guard that had gotten back up pushed him into the wall repeatedly and with a lot of force. 

When his helmet fell off, he could hear his mother let out an upset gasp. The head of the guards continued. “Fire Lord, how kind of you to join us.” 

Zuko growled and the other two men went back to slamming his body and head into the wall again. Blood was dripping down his head and onto his face. All the guards were focused on his torture and Zuko could hear his mother sobbing. Zuko felt that he might blackout at any moment for the second time that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heehee another cliffhanger.
> 
> Y'all are rad! I can't believe this story almost has 300 kudos!!!
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board. I added a section title 'Finale'. https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> My Tumblr: https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> The next chapter will be out next Tuesday (4/7).


	20. Finale Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH. MY. GOSH. I can't believe we've already made it to the second to last chapter!!!!

Zahr seemed very surprised to see Katara and Thala standing at the doorway and tightened Zuko’s crown in his hand. Azula was passed out and laying on top of a table and a guard approaching her. Thala didn't waste a moment before pulling the tall guard away.

Zahr called for more guards and immediately they came. It was once again a battle of four guards against the two waterbenders. As Katara and Thala did their best to dodge and redirect the attacks of fire and blades coming from the guards, Zahr had one guard lift up Azula’s sleeping form and they ran out of the building. Katara felt like groaning in frustration. They were so close to doing what they needed to do but now they were back where they were right when they entered through the window upstairs. Katara had enough and once again reprehensibly tapped into her bloodbending to keep the guards frozen in place for a second so that Thala and she could follow after Zahr, Azula, and the guard that was carrying her.

They reached the outside in front of the house, within eyesight of the prison that Toph bent, and they witnessed Zahr use a deep voice and call for Azula to wake up. 

Her eyelids snapped open and her pupils were dilated like they were the night of the ball and she jumped out of the arms of the guard that was carrying her and landed upright on both feet. Her hair was messy like how it was when Katara had visited her in her prison cell and it reminded Katara of how she had looked during the final Agni Kai.

Right at that moment, Aang glided by on his air glider and when Zahr saw the presence of the avatar, fury wasn't even a dark enough emotion to describe what the advisor showed on his face.

Zahr pointed up to the airbender in the night sky and spoke. “ _ Azula. Attack the avatar. _ ” 

Azula’s head snapped up and she immediately started and sent a fire pinwheel his way up into the sky.

Aang was ready, though, and flew out of the way and farther back, causing Azula to chase him away from where Katara and everyone else was.

The guards that were previously frozen in place by Katara’s blood bending were now caught back up with the girls. One pulled Thala back towards them by her long thick black hair that was roped into a braid, Thala turned and punched the man who had a hold of her hair in the gut. But Katara no longer had any water around her, so when they lunged for her, she only had the simple combat moves that Suki had taught her to rely on. Unfortunately, lower-tier combat moves didn’t work against their firebending and the exposed back of her neck got burned and a smell filled her nose alerting her that some of her hair must have gotten singed off. The men also seemed to be better trained in hand-to-hand combat than Katara was and she got struck in the face.

Katara stepped back but tripped over a stretch out leg that belonged to Thala. who was also struggling without any water or plant life nearby against a guard who was wrangling her arms behind her back. Katara saw and felt the weight of one of the men get on top of her and she suddenly felt petrified with terror, looking into the evil brown eyes and grin looking back down at her. She struggled her body from side to side and tried kicking her legs, but they were held down.

Aang glided back down on the ground and ran, turning his head to look behind him to check and see if the mind numb state Azula was still following him. She was. Good. He manipulated the air to push back against her and cause her to run slower.

She stopped running and with a grunt, sent a series of fire jabs his way. He blocked it easily by jumping high and coming back down to create an air bomb that sent Azula flying backward, but she somehow managed to land on her feet after a backward roll.

“Azula!” Aang called out while fire-stepping the flames that she sent towards him right back at her. “You’re better than this!” 

She brought one strike of lightning down and Aang jumped out of the way, Zuko still had yet to teach him how to redirect it. 

He kept speaking at the loud volume. “Get a hold of your thoughts and actions!” She appeared to be ignoring what he was saying. Maybe it wasn’t processing. He needed to try harder to help her escape the grasp that someone else had over her mind.

Beside them, the Kyoshi Island Ambassador that he had brought back on Appa was shuffling more of the guards into the rock prison that Toph had bent up from the ground. Toph was continuing to bend the rock cage to be bigger and bigger to fit more people but still be inescapable. Azula didn't turn to attack any of them. She was not attacking on anyone else, she was told to attack him, not anyone else.

She sent another blast of blue fire his way while he was distracted, and he was only able to dodge it by a hair. 

“Azula you’re the last person on earth who would willingly let themselves be mind-controlled with putting up a fight.” At those words, something in Azula’s eyes shifted slightly. Aang was now close enough to catch it. He needed to keep going and help her break free.

She stepped forward and swept her arms forward creating a blue blazing arc. Aang bent up an earth shelter to block him and when the flames passed and burned out, he bent the earth back down to where it was previously and was immediately met with a fire hammer: a move that Aang had only just learned to create. He bent the fire from her hands and returned the fire hammer back at her. She stepped out of the way and landed in Aang’s blindspot. He quickly jumped up high into the air and turned.

The airbender felt desperate now. “If you were to kill me, it should be under  _ your own  _ control and not someone else's!”

Azula paused her movements. His words seemed to finally getting through to her. She seemed to be having her own sort of Agni Kai inside her head. She fell hard onto her knees and then on her back, fortunately, she didn’t hit her head on the hard ground. Her eyes were rolled up and she was shaking. The neurological battle caused her long nails to grip her palms and cut them open with a little bit of blood falling onto the ground. Aang didn't know what to do besides roll her onto her side and make sure that she didn't choke on the vomit and spit-up foaming out of her mouth and onto the pavement. Her bloody hands locked around his arm and the muscles contracted, keeping him in a vice grip that was impossible to escape from.

From the grip that she had been pulled into, Thala watched as Katara tripped over the back leg that she had in a lunge and tumbled to the ground. She watched in fear as a guard crawled on top of Katara, successfully trapping the girl under his weight. The man started forming a fireball in the palm of his hand that was no doubt meant to be straight for Katara’s face. 

Thala had to think fast. She didn't have any water or vines around her that she could see. Man, Thala really missed being in the swamp where she was surrounded by water and plants. She did the best she could to try to use her bending abilities to locate water around her that she wasn’t able to see. She closed her eyes and focused hard. Bingo. Right beside them was the underground well that was used when that ugly looking fountain was still there. Without wasting a beat, Thala pulled up the water with so much force that it busted a crack through the ground. She bent the water into a long snake and wrapped it around the neck of the man holding her water kin down and squeezing tightly. 

The man tried and failed to get a grip on the liquid rope around his neck and Katara kicked out her knee and brought it right up to his crotch. The man stumbled and rolled over in extreme pain and Thala let go of the liquid grip that was wrapped around the man’s throat. Now that both of the benders had water, they were able to defeat the rest of the guards and caused them to pass out or at least lay on the ground in pain and unable to move. Unfortunately, they obviously didn't think all of their actions through since the guards were still outside of Toph’s rock prison in the middle of the courtyard. Katara took a deep breath and for the third time that night, she used her ability to bloodbend and bent each of the bodies to where they would be captured. The third and final time must be the charm.

Toph opened up an opening in a rock enclosure for Katara to lead the guards through. “Good job, Sugar Queen!” The earthbender had called out.

“Thanks!” Katara cupped a hand around her mouth and yelled back. 

But the fight was still far from over. They all still had a long way to go. Katara and Thala helped Toph corral all of the guards into the prison. It was a fatal mistake that left Katara unaware because that’s when she felt the presence of someone behind her. There was a shout and Katara quickly turned.

Advisor Zahr was there behind her. He must have been hiding out of her sight after sending Azula after Aang and then slithered up behind her. He had a dagger in his hand and was about to launch it into the middle of her back.

Thala took some of the water that they had now on the ground around them soaking into the cement and gravel, and brought it up, freezing Zahr in his place, a trick that she learned from Katara’s Southern Water Tribe style bending. The only thing that was not submerged in ice was his head.  _ “You swamp peasant bitch.”  _ He hissed out.

Thala ignored it. Katara turned around completely and saw the popsicle that was the advisor and the position of his hand holding the dagger was and began thanking Thala for saving her for what was at least the third time that day. Advisor Zahr wasn't a firebender and therefore was unable to melt the ice around him. He was, in all tense and purposes, frozen.

“You know, Advisor,” Thala began speaking and she circled around his iced state to stand next to Katara. “Ya’ve been a real pain in the neck to a lotta people. Ya definitely owe a lotta people a lotta apologies, but I think that the person that ya should start by apologisin’ to is mah gal Katara here.” Thala wrapped an arm around Katara’s shoulders.

For some unknown reason, the man must have thought that he still had pride and defiantly spit at Katara’s face. Before the saliva could hit her face though, Katara bent the saliva back to make it hit his own face instead of its intended target. Thala began practically rolling with laughter.

Aang’s frantic voice came from behind them. “Katara! Come quick!  _ Hurry! _ ”

Katara ran to where the voice came from admittedly at a lot slower pace than the one she had before due to fatigue. Lying on the ground next to the crouched down Aang was Azula, who appeared to be going through a fit of seizures. Thala remained by Zahr to make sure that no one came by and melted him out, but Toph ran up to see what was wrong.

“How long has she been going?” Katara asked, moving Azula’s messy hair from out of her face. She could tell from the firebender’s cheeks and that one of them was sucked in that she was biting her tongue which no doubt would probably be bleeding and would need heavy healing care.

“I- I don't know. Ten minutes I think.” Aang said, unsure. His tone made the answer sound more like a question.

“Is it possible that she's faking it?” Toph asked. “Sure her heartbeat has increased, but only a little bit.”

“I don’t think so,” Katara answered, bending some water from the ground from where she was standing and battling before to her. “If she was, Aang would have been able to pull his arm away.” Said arm was now bleeding from Azula’s long sharp and pointed nails digging into it.

“She's having a seizure,” Aang said, stating the obvious.  _ (Thanks Aang) _ .

The water in Katara’s hands began to glow and she said a quick prayer to Yue that what she was about to do would help. She has helped people with seizures before, but never from seizing from under the circumstances that the Fire Princess was. Katara brought her hands down to Azula’s temple and the glowing water began to enter and surround each and every crevice of the Fire Princess’ brain. Katara’s eyes were squinted closed and she began to shake as well. That wasn't supposed to happen but she decided it was best to keep going anyway. Eventually, the neurons in Azula’s brain must have rearranged to where they were supposed to be and the firebender fell into a deep sleep and she let go of Aang’s arm, which Katara quickly healed as well as Azula’s palms after opening her eyes. 

As she set to work on healing her own and Toph’s injuries as well, she spoke. “Will the two of you take her back to the palace to my room? She’s more than likely going to wake up and then start seizing again, and when she does, place socks into her hands and keep her on her side like you were doing before Aang so that she doesn't choke on her own spit-up.” Katara bent the previous vomit and spit-up away from them. “If her seizure lasts more than six minutes, rotate her onto her other side, and make sure you track down the royal physician and get him and inform him of the situation.” Toph and Aang nodded. She helped them lift Azula’s form into Appa’s saddle. Momo jumped and wrapped around Aang’s shoulder.

“Thank you for coming and helping,” Katara told Aang, giving him a hug.

“Of course, Katara. I'm still your friend.” He paused and looked her in the eye. “And I’m happy that you and Zuko are together.”

“You know?” Katara asked, jaw slightly open in a silent gasp.

“Sokka told me.” Aang said with a shrug, “Alright, I'm going to get Azula help. See you back at the palace.” And with That, Aang hopped up on Appa, called out “Yip yip!” And left.

Katara walked back to Thala and Advisor Zahr. Katara was feeling a little bit happy and relieved by what Aang had said to her. Of course, that pleasant feeling was very short-lived when the man reminded her of what had been eating at her mind.

“I see that the Fire Lord isn't back yet,” he sneered. “I wouldn't celebrate your victory too soon. All of your efforts will have gone to waste when he is killed. The war will break out without anyone standing in the way.”

Katara began to bite on the nail of her thumb as her heartbeat picked up and a sinking feeling settled deep in her stomach. She turned to Thala. “Should I go and try to find him?”

Thala shook her head. “Nah, ya don’t wanna put yaself into any more danger, plus ya obviously too exhausted to be able to go help him. The best thing that ya can do is just sit and rest and wait.”

Katara began to panic. “I don't even know where he is. All I know is he headed that way.” Katara said, gesturing to the pile of rubble that had previously exploded from buildings.

Advisor Zahr gave a satisfied sound that caused Katara’s nerves and panic to spike up even higher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the last chapter are not as long as the rest, but they are super action-packed with important details :)
> 
> I updated the Pinterest board. It makes me so happy to see that so many of you guys seem to really like it! https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/much-needed-amelioration/
> 
> I have a Tumblr, I haven't posted much on it as of late, but here is the link just in case you would like to check it out: https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thank you to all of you who message me on Tumblr, comment, reach out to me over Pinterest and such. You guys are awesome and I love that because of this fic that I had started writing when I was seventeen, I have been able to make so many amazing friends! My heart is bursting!!!! 
> 
> The final chapter will be out next Tuesday (7/14). xxx


	21. Finale Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the final chapter. It has been quite a fun and wild ride.

There were two distinct things that Zuko felt: the cool stone wall against his hands and cheeks and the blood dripping down his face from his forehead. He could taste the iron from the blood coming out of his nostrils and oozing onto his top and bottom lip and then into his mouth. His eyes weren't open but he knew that one of the guards probably had a knife or sword at his back ready to dig into his flesh.

He took a deep breath in and out and winced at how he wheezed. He forced one of his eyes open and turned to see Iroh looking at him with a look that he recognized from whenever they were in trouble during his banishment. Zuko prayed that Iroh had a plan or at least had the coherency to come up with one and that he wasn’t just bluffing to make Zuko feel better.

Iroh had to think fast to save his nephew and in return, save Ursa, Kanna, and himself. Iroh gave a small nod and Zuko closed the eye that was looking at him and gave out a hiss of pain. The guards were all yelling commands at each other. This would probably be the only chance that he had to act.

He quickly inhaled air and exhaled a stream of fire out of his mouth at the knees of their captors, burning through the mouth gag, and was careful not to accidentally scorch Zuko as well. It worked. The guards all dropped to the floor in a sharp groan of pain near his and his nephew’s feet and when one tried to get up, Ursa kicked the man's nose from her still seated position.

Kanna was just as fierce in action as Pakku had described to Iroh over the occasional cup of tea. She took advantage of the men being down and picked up a sword that one of them dropped and cut the ropes that were trying Ursa and Iroh down. The guards continued trying to attack, but Zuko shot them down by using multiple rapid-fire jabs. It was probably the best that the severely injured Firelord could do at the moment because he was really struggling on focusing on anything with his head injury and what appeared to be a broken nose. The guards were now successfully unable to get up. So, Zuko instructed, “Let’s go.”

They ran up the stairs to get back up to the upper level above the underground bunker and closed the bunker entrance doors behind them. There was a padlock on the floor so that it was locked closed. But just to make sure that it was completely impossible for the guards inside to escape out of, Zuko and Iroh used their bending to heat up the metal so that it would melt a little bit and further seal it shut. Zuko said to Iroh that they would need to inform Toph about this so that she could bend the metal doors and get them out later.

Zuko leaned against the side of the building to take a second to try to get his thoughts in the right order and ignore his agonizing injuries before he continued on. He reminded himself that he had dealt with worse and wiped the blood off of his face. He stood up and looked at his mother, his uncle, and Katara’s grandmother each in the eyes and said, “Let’s go.”

As he turned to lead the three others to the center of the city, where the Ozai statue previously was, he stepped on a loose piece of rubble from one of the buildings that were bombed, and unceremoniously fell forward onto the ground. He was able to catch his fall and not hit his face, with the heels of his calloused hands and his already bruised knees, but it was far from graceful, and definitely hurt. Especially when added to all of the other injuries that he was sporting.

“Zuko, are you alright?” Ursa asked quietly. She knelt down beside him on the ground and put a hand on his shoulder. There was no one else around them, but it was definitely a smart move to not speak at high volume and accidentally alert someone that could be approaching.

Zuko gave a grumbled “Mmhmm.” In response. When he tried to get back up onto his feet, he ended up just falling back down due to the cramping in his wrists. Ursa and Iroh were able to reach out quickly though and caught him.

“Lean on us as you walk, Nephew,” Iroh instructed. 

Zuko spit out onto the rubble and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go find Katara.”

Kanna led in the front, making sure that there wasn’t anyone coming through that was ready to attack them. Luckily the streets seemed to be cleared, and the city seemed to be mostly evacuated. Although Zuko was unsure if the older woman really knew how to use it, she still had that knife with her just in case. The Fire Lord trailed behind with one arm wrapped around the shoulders of his uncle and the other wrapped around his mother. He walked with slow heavy steps in the moonlight. It really wasn’t that far of a distance, but Iroh asked multiple times if any of them wanted to pause and take a rest, but each time Zuko refused. He needed to get to Katara immediately. 

Katara bit her nails and paced as she waited. Thala had gone off to go find Reyan, leaving Katara alone with her thoughts as she made sure that no prisoners escaped. Her mind was on Iroh and Ursa, but more than that, her Gran Gran and Zuko.

She was shaking when finally saw them all together in the near distance when they turned the corner around Advisor Zahr’s house, and when Katara saw them, she used the small bit of remaining energy that she had and did the best she could to sprint to them.

“Hello. Zuko here.” Zuko greeted with a sheepish smile. He was holding onto his mother and Uncle and beside them was Gran Gran. Katara had never been so thankful that they were all alive and okay.

Katara felt pins pricking behind her eyes and her lip gave a small quiver. Before she really even noticed his injuries, she hugged him tightly. “You're alive.” She whispered. 

“You are too.” He whispered back, his face was in her hair and his eyes were closed as relief flooded into both of their bodies.

She pulled away from him and moved on to give a tight hug to her grandmother, Iroh, and then Ursa. She wiped a tear from her eye and then took a look at her boyfriend’s bloody, bruised, and burned body. Despite his frail state, she couldn't help but hug him again. He removed his arms from around Iroh’s and Ursa’s shoulders when he wrapped his arms around Katara to return the hug and then his hands came up to his nose and forehead to attempt to wipe the remaining now dried blood away.

“You're injured,” Katara said. “Let me heal you.” She bent some water into her hands and it began to glow. Zuko placed a hand on her cheek so that she looked at him in his eyes. With a cheeky smile on his face, he leaned closer to her and quietly said, “You could lick it better.” He said to her. She immediately recognized the inside joke as him referring back to when they went to the festival together and she licked a cut on his face to heal it. She gave a happy and relieved laugh and kept the smile on her face as she sealed the various wounds on his face and body closed and bent the water to wash the blood away.

While she was healing him, more and more Kyoshi Warriors came with the guards that were part of the attack with their hands behind their back. A couple of warriors helped organize the people that attended the event and those that got pulled into the hysteria and did not or weren't able to flee the city. Ty Lee chi blocked all of the guards that were benders and then approached Katara and Zuko. 

“Here Zuko, I found your royal hairpiece hidden in a bush on the side of Zahr’s house. It’s a little scratched and dented, but it’s still kinda shiny.” Ty Lee handed the crown over to the Fire Lord. Along with the dents and scratches, there was also dirt and dust on it. Zuko didn’t bother to clean it or put it back on and placed the item into his pocket.

“I think that we got all of the guards and other people.” Ty Lee said, “There's some other guards and such trapped around here in different places I’m sure, but there's no way that they'll be able to escape until we free them. I'm going to have some of my girls start taking some of the prisoners to the palace prison in small guarded groups at a time.”

Zuko nodded. “That sounds great, Ty Lee. Thank you.” Zuko paused for a moment and then spoke again. “Does the Kyoshi Warriors’ offer to be guards at the Fire Nation palace still stand? It would only be temporary until I could find new guards of course.”

Ty Lee stepped forward and gave the man a tight hug. When he flinched, Katara immediately felt bad because she did the same thing to him earlier. “Yes, it still stands. We’ll start immediately!” She let go of the hug and gave him a bow. “Thank you, Fire Lord.”

He bowed back. “Thank you.”

Ty Lee left to continue her work. Kanna, Ursa, and Iroh were reconnecting with all of the people and healers that came to the hospital meeting expecting to work there. All around them, people with injuries were being tended to. It gave Zuko and Katara a moment alone for her to continue and finish up her handiwork on his injuries. Suddenly Zuko jerked and frantically looked around. “Wheres Azula?”

Katara placed a calming hand on his shoulder (and somehow she just noticed that he was wearing a royal guards uniform). “She’s okay. Aang somehow got her to break the grip that was put on her mental state. She had a seizure so I healed her mind to the best of my ability temporarily. Aang and Toph took her to see the royal physician.”

Zuko visibly relaxed and looked her in the eyes. “Thank you. For saving her, I mean.”

Katara smiled and put her hand back at her side. “You're welcome. She’s important to you and I do think that she can get better. Hopefully, this will help trigger the metamorphosis that she needs.”

The Kyoshi Island Ambassador, Reyan, was walking around the area, overseeing that everyone was okay and offering her house to anyone who might need to stay there for a while until the whole hospital and healer’s living situation was rearranged, promising that she already mentioned it to her wife and that she was on board for providing people who needed it shelter and place to stay for the time being as well. Katara watched the exchange with a warm smile. As tough as Reyan appeared on the outside, she was even more soft and compassionate on the inside.

Iroh reapproached Zuko again. “I know that a bunch of chaos happened, nephew, but for the sake of your people, you should probably start to consider what you are going to do about your Advisors. It’s safe to say that Zahr will no longer be serving as one, but you can't be sure that other advisors aren't involved. From what I've been informed of, it's very unlikely that he acted alone on the financial backing and planning of this scheme.”

Zuko sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and then put his arms back down. “I'll have to start by investigating who else is behind it and then slowly weed each one out since I can't fire all of them or else there will be an uproar from the dignitaries and upper-class. In the meantime, I'll begin looking for new advisors to slowly replace the old ones.”

“What if you asked Reyan to be an advisor?” Katara suggested. The two other men looked at her with a little bit of surprise and curiosity but stayed silent so that she could keep going and expand on her reasoning. “She's obviously good with justice and leadership since she was once the leader of the Kyoshi warriors. She didn't grow up in the Fire Nation, but her wife did and she's lived here since the war ended.” Katara explained with a shrug.

“That’s… not a bad idea. Later, I’ll ask her if she would be interested. We’d have to find a new ambassador for Kyoshi Island, but that shouldn’t be a problem with the Kyoshi warriors being stationed here.” Zuko spoke.

Iroh glanced between the two of them with a warm and proud smile on his face. “Now is as good of a time as any to give you the news,” He said.

Katara and Zuko both turned back to look at him.

“Nephew, I’ve decided that I’m going to return my tea shop to Ba Sing Se as I had originally planned.”

“Why?” Katara asked for both Zuko's sake and for her own curiosity.

“The reason that I opened the Jasmine Dragon in the Fire Nation so close to the palace was that I knew that my nephew would need someone to turn to when there was trouble and when faced with such predicaments. I’m so happy to see that Zuko now has you that he can turn to figure out the solutions to problems.” The older man hugged both of them. “But don’t worry, I’m not leaving right this instant and I do plan on visiting often.”

Katara studied Zuko, she was worried about what his reaction would be, but he had a smile on his face and hugged his uncle tighter.

When Iroh had returned to chatting with other people, Katara turned to Zuko, “let’s not go over the details of everything that happened tonight until tomorrow. I want to celebrate right now that everything turned out alright.”

“I like that idea.” He agreed. They were still standing where they previously were, but there were a lot fewer people around as they all had retired back to the palace or wherever they were staying. Aang came back with Appa and the Kyoshi Warriors returned with some of the palace’s emu horses to take everyone home. Zuko and Katara had decided to stay behind just in case anything else exciting suddenly happened. Thankfully, nothing did.

“I’m glad that you’re okay,” Katara told him. They were standing facing one another. Her left hand was connected with his right one and their fingers were interlocked. The sun had begun to come up and Zuko’s smile looked even more radiant than usual in the glowing light.

“I’m glad you are too.” He brought her hand up to his lips and softly kissed it, his eyes were closed.

Katara watched the action with fondness and decided to boldly speak her mind. “I love you.”

Zuko paused with her hand still at his lips and his eyes opened to look into hers.

Her nerves set in and she began to feel a little defensive. “It was too soon for me to say that, wasn’t it?” She pulled her hand back down from where he held it to her side and instead of continuing to look into his eyes, looked over his shoulder instead.

He was probably able to sense her weariness and grabbed her by her hips to be closer to him and then tilted up her chin and slowly and softly, but still with all of his heart, kissed her. She didn’t waste a moment and immediately reciprocated the kiss. When they pulled away, he kissed her forehead, then the bridge of her nose, and then ended with a peck on her lips. “It wasn’t too soon. I love you too Katara- I’m in love with you. I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while. Thank you for being brave enough to say it first.”

Katara wrapped her arms around him in a hug. There had already been so many hugs that night, but not nearly enough. His face was in her hair and he took a deep inhale and smelled the saltwater and coconut soap that she often used. “Do you want to build another hospital with me?” He asked.

Still in the hug, she answered. “I’d love to. I think that the citizens of the Fire Nation need it now more than ever.”

She leaned her face up to his and they kissed again and in the Fire Nation night air, fireflies flew around them.

  
  
  
  


~Epilogue~

Hiromi walked down the long red hallways of the Fire Nation Palace. He only had a few more tasks to do and a few more things to clean until he was done for the day and would go back to his home in time to have dinner with his wife and two children. He enjoyed his job of cleaning the Fire Nation Palace, the pay was good and there were always exciting things happening around him. His favorite of his tasks was to dust the portraits and paintings that aligned the hallways, so he always saved it for right before the end of his day.

His son wanted to grow up to be a painter and his daughter wanted to grow up to be a politician, so when he got home, he would describe to them what the oil paintings that he would carefully dust and wash the frames of were of. He started by tending to some smaller paintings of landscapes in the Fire Nation and a world map and so forth. Then he got to the more large scale paintings. He began tending to a family portrait as he cleaned, he did his best to memorize it for when he would be describing it to his kids later.

It was an older portrait of the Fire Lord and the Fire Lady and of their kids when they were much younger. The Fire Lady and Fire Lord were standing in the behind their children with one of their hands resting on the other’s back and their other hands were resting on the shoulder of a different child. On the shoulder of the child standing in front of them. Each member of the family was smiling brightly which was a nice refresher when compared to all the other past royal family portraits where everyone was looking forward with a somber expression. The older daughter, Princess Ursa, named after her grandmother on her father’s side, was smiling with her mouth closed and her head was tilted slightly to the side. Although she was already an accomplished fire bender like her father and had straight black hair that resembled his, and had big round bright blue eyes that were rivaled only by her mother, Fire Lady Katara’s.

The other daughter, who was younger and was named Princess Kya after her grandmother on her mother's side, was looking forward with her gold eyes and a big smile that showed off her missing teeth, as kids do. Her hair was wavy and dark, both girls had a mix of their parents’ pale and tan skin tones. Princess Kya was already showing signs of being an amazing waterbender that would no doubt become a water bending master like her mother was when she got older.

When Hiromi finished his dusting off the family portrait, he moved onto the rest of the paintings in that hallway before moving onto the gallery where all of the large scale monumental portraits of the current and past Fire Lords were displayed. He cleaned each portrait from the end of one side of the room to the others, going from oldest to newest. He ended with the only recently completed portrait of Fire Lord Zuko.

This portrait was the one that Hiromi’s son always got the most excited about when his father would describe it. The Fire Lord in the portrait was standing with his elbows at his side, forearms were out, and his palms were facing up, redirecting lightning. Behind his head was a world map of all four nations. This was to represent the different countries coming together after the war ended and Zuko became the Fire Lord. Even the air nomads, which the avatar began to rebuild. 

From each top corner of the painting, came out a dragon. One who was red and one was blue. This was to show how during the Fire Lord’s reign, he and the rediscovered sun warriors reintroduced dragons into the world and made laws that protected them and kept them sacred. At the very bottom of the painting was glowing blue water that was used to represent the healthcare that he created and installed, but also the three hospitals in the Fire Nation that he and Fire Lady Katara, her especially, created and the one in the Earth Kingdom that they were currently working on in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se and was being overlooked by the older Fire Princess Ursa and Former General Iroh.

The hospitals and healthcare plan that the Fire Lord and Fire Lady created and implemented has helped Hiromi’s small and growing family so much. It was actually Fire Lady Katara before she became the Fire Lady, who had helped deliver his wife and his oldest child, and his daughter absolutely adored the woman.

Hiromi finished his cleaning and stepped out of the palace, and began his ride back to his home to Fire Fountain City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, y’all. Not going to lie, I feel pretty emotional posting the final chapter. In case you didn’t know, I actually began writing this fic when I was 17 and finished it when I was 19 in November of 2019. I left it alone for a while and then edited each chapter as I went on before I posted it. It has been a goal of mine to write and post a full multi-chapter fic and I am so happy that I have been able to. I’m probably going to post this whole thing on fanfiction.net at some point, but I’m really glad that I posted it here first. Thank you to all of you for reading this fic, I’m going to miss posting this fic and interacting with you guys.
> 
> I am also currently working on another Zutara fic which I hope to finish soon and start posting as soon as I can that I think you might enjoy and should be on the lookout for if you are interested. It will also be a multichapter and I’ve been having a lot of fun writing it so far. I plan to post some spoilers about it on my Tumblr. <3
> 
> Thank you again to everyone who has kept up with this fic, you guys are the best!
> 
> Pinterest mood board: https://www.pinterest.com/whoisshefanfiction/  
> My Tumblr: https://whoissheff.tumblr.com/


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